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Maidstone: Switch Youth Cafe unveils mural painted in collaboration with National Citizen Service

11:30, 03 August 2016

A group calling themselves the "Fantastic Fifteen" have unveiled a mural to show that there is strength in unity.

The mural has been painted on a wall at the Switch Youth Cafe, just off Maidstone High Street.

It depicts a tree with various flags of the world coming off its branches, with a quote from Aesop written either side.

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The quote reads: "In union there is strength."

Mark Chase, the manager of the cafe, said: "We have young people working on a variety of projects, and we contribute over 2,000 hours each year with young volunteers.

"We are currently refurbishing the downstairs area of the cafe thanks to funding from Golding Homes, and we got contacted by the National Citizen Service as a result of this.

"The mural is based on social unity and trying to create community cohesion."

The fantastic fifteen (left to right): Priyam Thapa, Unika Limbu, Mark Homes, Kyren Ball, Kamana Rai, Jesse Dawson, Joe Gosney, Chloe Malujlo, Ed Pile, Michalina Michalska, Gregory Biggs, Lauren Dram, Stacey Wright, Xola Mji, Abigail Gibbins
The fantastic fifteen (left to right): Priyam Thapa, Unika Limbu, Mark Homes, Kyren Ball, Kamana Rai, Jesse Dawson, Joe Gosney, Chloe Malujlo, Ed Pile, Michalina Michalska, Gregory Biggs, Lauren Dram, Stacey Wright, Xola Mji, Abigail Gibbins

Joe Gosney, one of the team behind the mural, said that the group was keen to send a message to the Maidstone community through the piece.

"Our theme was social unity and we wanted to pass on a message to the Maidstone community that even though we come from different countries and have different beliefs, we are all still human and we should all respect each other.

"There have been quite a few problems recently but we believe that even though we have left the European Union we should still stay strong and be friends with everyone," he said.

The fifteen youngsters worked on the project in collaboration with the Catch-22 branch of the National Citizen Service.

This branch aims to provide a strong society where everyone has a good place to live, a purpose, and good people around them.

The mural is free for the public to visit and view at the cafe.

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