The lost boy who made a home on my sofa
Swedish youth worker, Nicolas Lunabba had one strict rule: never get attached to the kids you help. Then 13-year-old Elijah moved in — and turned his mentor’s flat into a home.
Youth worker Nicolas Lunabba had one golden rule: to never get emotionally involved with the children he helped. In Malmö, Sweden, where poverty and violence shaped young lives, detachment was his survival strategy. Then he met Elijah, an eight-year-old with a mohawk, a basketball under his arm, and a fearless, sometimes dangerous streak. They bonded over basketball and five years later, Elijah arrived at Nicolas’ flat and made a home on his sofa. He borrowed his clothes, asked him to read aloud from a 3,600-page novel, and slowly cracked the emotional armour of a man who had spent years keeping people at arm’s length. What began as mentorship became an unconventional and powerful bond that changed both their lives for the better.
Nicolas has written a memoir, Will You Care If I Die, and a Swedish film of the same name is currently in production.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Tom Harding Assinder
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