Anti-knife crime campaigners being honoured vow to continue fight
Pooja Kanda has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) following her tireless campaign for changes in the law after her 16-year-old son Ronan was murdered with a ninja sword yards away from his Wolverhampton home.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Kanda said she was 'grateful' and 'overwhelmed' by the honour following the death of her son in June 2022.
The 48-year-old said: 'The day I heard about the OBE, I held his picture. I shed tears.
'I know that the OBE is in my name, but this is for my son.
'I'm only here because of who he was. He was such a kind, loving, caring, not a son, not a brother, a human being, a person who everyone loved.'
Meanwhile, mother and daughter duo Alison Madgin, 60, and Carly Barrett, 34, have become Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), also for services to the prevention of knife crime.
Ms Madgin's daughter Samantha Madgin was a new mother of 18 years of age when she was stabbed to death in Wallsend in 2007. Her son was just 68 days old when she died.
The two told PA their honours are 'bittersweet'.
Ms Barrett, who was only 16 years old when her sister was murdered, said: 'We've had to lose Samantha to get these honours.
'It was her I wanted to tell.'
They set up Samantha's Legacy, a community interest company, in 2019 and have since given talks to young people across the north east of England about the dangers of carrying knives.
Ms Kanda said she was driven to campaign after witnessing the trial of her son's killers, who attacked the 16-year-old in a case of mistaken identity.
They had been able to buy knives without identity checks.
'During that court case, the revelation each day was: how is this possible?' Ms Kanda said.
'How? How on earth are these types of weapons still available?
'No wonder my son didn't stand a chance.'
Ms Kanda and her family began the Justice For Ronan Kanda campaign after his death and have since advocated for changes in the law around the sale of knives.
She said one of Ronan's killers had been able to get weapons online 'as easily as getting bread and milk'.
The Kanda family's campaigning has already achieved one of its goals – the passing of Ronan's Law which will make it illegal to own, sell, make or import ninja swords in the UK from August 1.
Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, Ronan's constituency, thanked Ms Kanda and her family for their efforts when the law was approved in Parliament on April 30.
But for Ms Kanda, there is still 'so much to do'.
'This is just one fight for me,' she said.
'There were many failures that I endured, and many failures need to be turned into learnings.'
Ms Barrett said becoming an MBE has given her 'fire to go and do more'.
Her mother Ms Madgin said: 'For all the victims who haven't got a voice, we are here for them, because a lot of victims can't be as outspoken as what we may be.'
Ms Barrett added: 'We don't do it to be recognised, but it gives us that little bit more strength and inspiration to carry on.'
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