Drexler Reuben Ogbeifun

Drexler Ogbeifun is in Grade 10 at North Albion Collegiate. He lives in Rexdale with his mother, brother and sister. Drexler brings us the story of Zya Browne, who has lost friends and neighbours to gang violence in the neighbourhood. Instead of throwing up her hands, Zya decided to try to do something about it.

Rexdale

Tucked up in the northwest corner of Toronto, Rexdale is bounded by Islington Avenue to the east, Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north and Highway 401 to the south.

Rexdale is one of the city's most ethnically diverse areas, where you can find Indian grocery stores, African hair salons and Jamaican music stores standing side by side. That diversity is also reflected in the homes of Rexdale residents. Just four in 10 families speak English as their main language at home.

The community is also known for its large, low-income housing developments and high unemployment rate, which at 18% is three times the city's average. Gang violence and high profile shootings have scarred the neighbourhood and its reputation in recent years.

But the area is also bursting with musical creativity. Hip-hop artists Jelleestone and K'naan hail from Rexdale, as does the rock band, The Rheostatics.

Drexler Reuben Ogbeifun

Meet the Participants

Bilingual Participants

Three of our French-speaking students also prepared English versions of their reports. More reports in French are available at http://www.radio-canada.ca