Urban Family Tree

Ulla Mahaka

Ulla is the Founder and Director of Urban Family Tree. Her mission is to raise the educational, social and cultural aspirations of inner city families by creating strong and lasting links between home, school and the community.

After having been widowed in 2002, it never occurred to her that she could be a single mum to her 6 year old son. Instead, she moved to London and immediately began to actively restore absent family members in her child’s life through quality mentoring as well as embracing the community around her through volunteering, outreach activities, networking and fundraising .

A decade on, despite being disconnected from

her blood relatives, she is honoured to be surrounded by an urban family tree comprising 2 mothers, a dad, multiple sisters, brothers, no less than 5 sons (two of whom are named Michael) and more extended families members than she knows what to do with.

She believes parenting is not about right and wrong or good and bad; it is about truth and her top truths include the following:

1. It is impossible to singularly parent a child.

Everyone and everything your child comes into

contact with is either negatively or positively

helping you "parent" them.

2.You cannot be mother and father to a child.

3. “Parent to Parent” support is better than an

“expert lecturing parent” dynamic.

4. If an important family member is absent for

substantial periods of time, find a mentor to

act as a surrogate.

5. Parents and children should be mentored at the

same time.

A trained journalist, film and theatre actor, Ulla is a gifted motivational speaker and a contagious optimist who is currently studying for a BA (Honours) Degree in Social Work. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.