On Monday 31st August 2026, we brought Steps, Stories and Strength to its grand finale at The ARC Community Hub in Loughborough — and what a way to end.

Session 3 was built around two things: movement and knowledge. Brain Adeleke led the Rumba sessions, and from the moment the music started, the room came alive. Adults, children, and everyone in between threw themselves into it with joy and zero self-consciousness. The photos tell the story better than words can — bodies in the air, children spinning between adults, smiles everywhere.

For those who stayed for the health and wellbeing talk, Dr Charity A. Aienobe-Asekharen and Dr Sam Adema led a thoughtful conversation on the benefits of physical play and family activity. It was warm, accessible, and full of practical insight — exactly the kind of session that makes you want to move more and talk more.

The feedback afterwards said it all. One participant, Phil, put it simply:

When I got home yesterday and finished my demo. I slept, and I have never had such a deep nap in years.

Moses was equally honest:

My body told me when I got home. Woke up this morning with pains everywhere!

We will take that as a five-star review.

And from Dr Sam Adema, coordinator of Chapter 12:

Plans are in the pipeline to make these sessions a regular feature of our activities. We will harden this over the coming weeks and discuss it over coffee.

That last one means more than it might seem. It means what started as a three-session funded programme has taken root. The community wants more. And we are listening.

Session 3 saw approximately 24 participants, 12 adults and 12 children, come through the doors of The ARC Community Hub. Every single feedback respondent said they would definitely attend a future Karibani event. Every one of them said they were very likely to be more physically active.

That is what this programme was designed to do.

Thank you to Brain Adeleke for the energy, to Dr Charity and Dr Sam for the wisdom, to Chapter 12 for the partnership, and to every person who showed up on a Bank Holiday Monday and gave it everything they had.

Steps, Stories and Strength is supported by the Physical Activity Community Grant, funded by the Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group (LLHRG) and the Centre for Ethnic Health Research (CEHR), University of Leicester.