Tuesday Topic with Christine Rutter

"I HAD to be very careful when washing the vans that I didn't accidentally spray a passer-by with water.

"They would have taken this as a personal insult and I would have had it."

Carolyn Lee used her forefinger to draw a sharp line across her neck.

The 40-year-old mother-of-four spent nearly a week in a ghetto in downtown Brooklyn, one of the toughest areas of America's murder capital New York, where an accidental spray of water could be avenged with murder.

In Brooklyn, eye contact, walking on the "wrong side" of the street or simply asking directions could cost you your life .

Carolyn's put her life on the line and her young family on hold to get an insight into the ground-breaking work of Metro Ministries, a Christian programme of activities for children and youths which aims to stem the spiralling crime rate in America. Members of MM are fighting a war to capture the hearts and minds of a generation yet to be tarnished with the twisted notions of the violent society they live in.

And Carolyn's visit gave her the skills and impetus to set up her own kids' club called JAM - Jesus and Me. It is her way of keeping children off the streets in the Shadsworth area of Blackburn, where she lives.

She said: "Shadsworth is not like the Bronx but it is heading that way. There is gang warfare going on in the estate with people smashing up people's homes and properties and terrorising residents. There are many good people on this estate but the minority spoil it for the majority. There give the estate a bad name.

"People are too frightened to go to the police. We want to make the streets safer. We have to teach children that violence is wrong."

Carolyn's trip to America was harrowing. A five-year-old girl was murdered the day before she visited an outreach centre.

She saw youngsters as young as four turning up for activities, only to be rushed to hospital suffering from the effects of drugs administered by their parents.

"Life is so cheap over there.

"It is the raw end of life," said Carolyn, of Skye Crescent.

The dangerous undercurrent was always felt during her trip but never more so than during an activity session when the leader asked if anyone in the adolescent audience was carrying a gun. "The question threw the crowd off guard," she said. "I couldn't believe how many put their hands up."

Carolyn was advised to carry $5 "mugging money" so that she would have something to hand over if she was accosted.

But she has only sympathy for people who she believes are products of a violent environment and a poor upbringing.

A member of The Abundant Life Church, in Blackburn, Carolyn said: "Many have poor family life and think acting violently is normal.

"They grow up feeling worthless and unloved with no aspirations or dreams. It has been hard and virtually unheard of for people to change and succeed in the ghetto, until now."

Her crusade started when she got hold of some literature written by Bill Wilson, who founded the Metro Ministries.

She thought it would be ideal for street children and was invited to the United States to see the programme in action.

Carolyn slept in an auditorium in a sleeping bag, struggling to rest amid the background noise of gunfire.

She spent her day visiting children's homes, joining in large-scale activities to preach the good news and travelling to danger zones patrolled by police in vehicles built to withstand a 50 calibre bullet fired at close range.

She said: "I was so impressed with the American system and knew it could work in Blackburn."

Former psychiatric nurse Carolyn and husband David, 43, who both spent six years on mercy missions to Romania, jointly run the club at Shadsworth Leisure Centre.

It starts again on Saturday, August 27 from 1pm to 3pm and every Saturday thereafter.

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