An inspirational young basketball player has opened up about how a letter from his late mother helped him climb out of a depression that left him bedbound to save lives.
Lamar Roberts from east London had a difficult start in life and lost his mother to cancer at an early age, causing him to fall into a downward spiral of smoking and drinking.
But that all changed when he found a letter from his late mom while sorting through her belongings.
In the letter, she wrote, "Son, do your basketball when you get older. Don't forget that I love you, and be good for your family."
It was then that he decided to make something of his life and help other people along the way.
Recalling his difficult start in life, Lamar, who now plays for the London Lions, said: "Growing up in East London, I faced many challenges - I could have been in jail, dead, homeless, addicted to unhealthy habits, so many negatives surrounded my environment that affected my mind."
After his mother died, Lamar's mental state deteriorated.
"I felt paralyzed at times, didn't feel like getting out of bed. I would smoke, drink, and I had no idea of a pathway towards my future. I had no sense of purpose."
However, he found a light not only through his mother's letter, but a number of other positive influences in his life.
"There [were] plenty of times I could have given up because of the hardship faced, but along the journey [I came] across positive influences.
"In my case, it was how I took in information from the counseling sessions, my learning mentor, my basketball coach, my dad, [and] the guest public speaker in my school. They all had a positive influence in different seasons within my journey."
These positive influences motivated Lamar to take further action by founding RDF Sports, which uses basketball to bring together some of England's most vulnerable communities – with a particular focus on engaging young people who have been affected by issues including substance abuse and homelessness.
"Young black men may not access support networks outside of their own comfort," he explained. "Sometimes this stems from broken promises, lack of guidance, knowledge and trust.
"I believe that being black and young [and] seeing life-changing mistakes happen around me [helped me] channel my energy and focus into positive solutions for young black men to become leaders."
"I'm now working with young people who have lost their mum and dad to cancer, and I understand my role in their lives. They're doing really well, but they have their ups and downs. [They] accept me as their support network/system and are using basketball as a focus and discipline.
"It is through negative circumstances in which we can find life lessons that are key to opening other people's doors, and that becomes purposeful."
Lamar is pictured below as a baby with his late mother.
Lamar has not only continued the legacy of his mother's letter through RDF Sports but by becoming an ambassador for Anthony Nolan: a UK-based charity that provides live-saving bone marrow transplants to those with blood cancer.
He explained in a poignant video with Anthony Nolan that every day, five people with blood cancer begin the search for a stranger to save their life, and all it takes to do so is the donation of stem cells.
But despite the potentially life-saving benefits of stem cell donation, there is a shortage of men aged between 16 and 30 on the register.
"Before getting to know Anthony Nolan, I had no idea specifically about the work they do. Also being aged between 16-30 myself, I can imagine how many more young men aren't aware of the process to register," he explained.
The young basketball player teamed up with the charity for their Be a Lifesaver campaign and this had a colossal effect.
He explained that brand "awareness increased from 26% to 30%. Over 2,000 young men aged 16-30 registered, social media presence grew, the short film we did was watched 5.1 million times, 253 pieces of press coverage around the campaign reached 10.8 million people.
"I'm glad that we managed to create awareness, a lifesaving opportunity where young people being registered is just as important as anyone else."
Lamar explained that people can help Anthony Nolan not only by signing up to become donors but in a number of other ways too.
The charity, Lamar said, has a number of events including Walking Together, which allows people to raise funds for those affected by blood cancer through sponsored walks.
The basketball player also mentioned Communities vs Blood Cancer; an initiative that encourages people to engage with the statistics about the stem cell register in their local area with their MP/MSPSs and invite them to the receptions at Westminster and Holyrood."
Having used the letter from his other as a force to change not only his life but countless others, Lamar had some poignant advice for other young, Black men who want to make a difference in the world.
"Dig Deep within yourself, first you have to protect your heart, mind, space, and environment, eliminate all negative distractions, then visualize what's in your heart.
"When I found the letter from my mum, it helped me, she saw something I didn't see, and it was using basketball as a tool and platform for change," he said.
Lamar continued: "I knew I had to bring this vision to life. I knew it was the key that would open other young people's doors, the doors and obstacles they found hard to get through.
"Using sport to restore broken communities, we work with thousands of young people to turn away from crime and unhealthy habits.
"If I can do it, so can you."
