Tunde

Tunde’s journey with us began on a training course in 1993.

‘When I came in and saw the trainers and the way that they treated me, I fell in love, and I wanted to work for Pecan.’

Tunde’s journey with us began on a training course in 1993. From there she took her first job with us and now, twenty years on, she runs our Jobsearch programme.

‘I’m sure God ordered my steps into Pecan,’ believes Tunde. ‘Otherwise I wouldn’t have stayed this long. People say to me, “Why are you still there?” And I say, it’s a calling, not just a job. That’s why I put my heart and soul into it.’

Pecan has always tried to help people to see their value. And Tunde knows this has lifelong consequences.

‘What I do opens a huge door to so many things people never could have dreamt they could do. That’s what gets me up in the morning, knowing I’ve put a smile on people’s faces, knowing that they can stand on their own two feet and make it.’

Tunde regularly bumps into grateful former clients: the nurse in hospital who gives her special treatment, the man on the meat stall who tries to give her double portions, the fruit seller who forces free fruit into her hands.

‘When people on the streets of Peckham shout, “Hey Tunde! You know what, I got a job, and I’m doing very well, my family are doing well,” it brings me so much joy.’

It’s this that makes it all worthwhile for Tunde. ‘Once you’ve got them up and running it is amazing,’ she says. ‘You see this new person that you’ve never seen before. Someone who was dead on the inside, now come alive.’