Adapting and Achieving during Covid

In the last year a lot has changed. You’ve heard that a lot. 

People have changed, education has changed and so have organisations. Have you noticed that some organisations have really stepped up in the last year and gone out of their way to help?

Uber and Pret have been offering free rides and meals for NHS staff, Nike supporting the safety precaution with their ‘Stay at home, play at home’ message. Burberry repurposed factories to make masks, helping toward the vaccine and have helped charities too. Many small local charities and community organisations have been providing meals to NHS staff and neighbours, checking on the vulnerable and elderly with daily calls and getting shopping for the people who have been shielding. Teachers have gone out of their way to offer support to their students, learning new technology and how to teach through it, working all hours to make sure every student is engaged and involved, some teachers have cycled round to check that children have food, and found ways to get technology and internet access to others.

Various apps like Zoom have been keeping us connected, and many others providing us with a bit of pleasant relief from the restrictions. Organisations such as Thinking Classroom have been hosting free Zoom Schools to get us all up to speed with online connectivity. As organisations have jumped to offer their services online this has actually increased access to some who have internet access but can’t travel.

We would like to share how we have also stepped up to help out over the last year too, and these are 5 ways that we have been helping a wide range of people in different parts of the world directly in response to the pandemic. Responding to the pandemic to further strengthen the support we offer in our three key areas of Access to Education, Resources for Educators, and Education Dialogue.


1. How we provided access to education support in response to Covid


We connected with our partners to see what challenges they had from Coronavirus that we could help directly with. It turned out that many students in the countries we work with did not have access to any education whilst in lockdown due to the digital divide. So we provided solar powered radios so that children in those remote areas could listen to their lessons which their governments were broadcasting by radio.


We also discovered an increase in violence against women, so we worked with our partners to set up Gender Based Violence workshops to bring this to light and work on ways to make women and girls safer in school.


In Cuba, women delivered the Positive Periods Programme via WhatsApp, connecting 20 women’s organisations who were learning new skills together during lockdown.


2. How we supported the Covid Stay Safe message with resources for educators


Lockdown has awoken a lively discussion about education and school. This is good for us as we are always keen to promote and foster conversation about education, and access to it. In support of the Coronavirus Stay Safe message, we published a resource pack called ‘Learning from Home’ which helped lots of parents and educators by pulling together all the useful resources they could be using for home learning into one place. We also used Social Media to connect with parents and educators, ask questions and offer practical support through our posts.


3. How we increased access to education online


As we were not able to attend events and give talks, we developed a Life Long Learning webinar series (free or by donation). We linked this webinar series to raising awareness of the digital divide, as not everyone in the world has access to online learning.

People across the globe were at home and were looking to learn about new things online.


We hosted storytelling sessions “Myths and Stories” with students from The Gambia, Haiti, Sierra Leone and the U.K. working together on-line to strengthen understanding between cultures. We also encouraged students in the UK and Poland to share poetry with each other.


4. How we helped people stay connected through an education dialogue


We thought at first that the webinars would just be informative, but we allowed ourselves to experiment and discovered that the post popular webinars were those that gave people the chance to be actively creative in ‘creating together’ webinars. In addition to webinars about Human Rights and Safeguarding we hosted webinars where the participants wrote poetry together, made art and showed each other what they had made, had discussions, watched films together with a live Q&A after. This has helped to build and strengthen our ‘Education for All’ community.


We have also created some Digital Charity Gifts for people to buy and share with their loved ones, this gives more people access to supporting us in a fun way, with a completely environmentally sound gift. We’ve had some lovely feedback to say that it has already helped people to connect, smile and say thank you.


5. How we helped people smile and gave hope


We increased our social media posts during lockdown to keep the conversation going about the positive impact we are having through the work we do. Our aim was to spread hope and positive messages about the successful impact we have been having to counteract some of the depressing statistics we have every night on our TV screens. We also posted ‘Smile Posts’ of children smiling and novelty treats like stop motion, and time lapse videos with positive quotes, so that there would be something to make people smile when they saw our feed. We now have a Good News email that is designed to encourage everyone to share positivity and hope. Ultimately, we need hope, and positivity, to make our dreams of education for all a reality.



The main point is this, Covid has been difficult for many, but many of us have made a stand for helping others and spreading hope and positivity. There are actually many fantastic things happening in the world right now. Many organisations, as well as us have been working away all year to make great things happen, because we want to encourage people to smile, have hope and most importantly continue learning and connecting with each other.


Thank you for reading and please leave a comment to let us know what was the best thing you saw happen last year.


Steve Sinnott • April 28, 2021

Empowering Student Voices: Young Ambassadors Champion Inclusive Education for All

By Ann Beatty • October 13, 2025
In our continued commitment to ensuring quality and inclusive education for every child, we’ve taken our advocacy to a new level by empowering the next generation to lead the conversation. In partnership with The Gambia Teachers Union, we recently convened the Foundation’s Young Ambassadors for a vibrant day of engagement dedicated to promoting the right to education for all. The event brought together passionate students from selected senior secondary schools across Region One, including St. John’s School for the Deaf, to explore what it truly means to make education inclusive, equitable, and accessible to every learner. 

Seeds of Hope 2025: Young People Planting Peace and Sustainability Around the World

By Ann Beatty • October 3, 2025
The Steve Sinnott Foundation is proud to celebrate the inspirational winners of the 2025 Seeds of Hope for a Better Future competition, a global initiative supported by UNESCO that brings together creativity, community, and a shared commitment to peace and sustainability. This unique project invited schools across the world from nursery and primary through to secondary and high school to explore the values of peace, cultural understanding, and care for the planet. In the face of climate change, young people were asked to tell their stories through art, performance, and digital creativity, highlighting how small seeds of action can grow into powerful movements for hope. The results have been extraordinary. Schools in France, the UK, Gambia, Haiti, and Kenya have been recognised for their outstanding contributions, with projects ranging from community gardens and sculptures to dance performances and illustrated stories. Each winner has shown how young voices and imagination can nurture peace and sustainability in ways that inspire us all. The full Awards Ceremony can be watched linked here: S eeds of Hope For A Better Future Awards Ceremony 2025 Highlights from the Winners Oak View Primary and Nursery School (UK) created Faces of Feeling, a collection of joyful sculptures already exhibited in a local gallery. Judges praised their work as supporting the wellbeing of others and embodying the idea of children as true “Seeds of Hope.” St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School (Gambia) painted Campaign for a Sustainable Banjul , reflecting real-world climate action in their city. The judges described it as “a most deserving and robust winner.” In France , the Jardin d'Enfants des Nations Unies (United Nations Nursery School) won hearts with Wind of Peace , where 5-6 year olds combined drawings, paintings, and tree planting to champion reforestation. Lyng Hall Secondary School, Coventry (UK) collaborated with Henley Green Primary and the UK Literacy Association to produce The Heart Shaped Hole – an innovative and metaphorical take on Seeds of Hope. Earlsdon Primary School, Coventry (UK) impressed with Primary Plot , a project that included gardening with the visually impaired, reflecting inclusivity and sustainability. A remarkable cross-collaboration between 21 schools across West Yorkshire, Essex, and Tower Hamlets (UK) resulted in Lights, Camera, Score , an ambitious combination of animation, music, and storytelling. CIMA Community School of Hope, Haiti shared Konbit - a video of dance and solidarity, inspiring villages to work together for peace and dignity. Daraja Academy, Kenya presented an ambitious and optimistic project integrating sustainability into everyday school life. Celebrating Creativity and Peace This year’s competition was judged by an impressive panel of artists, writers, and cultural leaders including Sir Antony Gormley, Edmund de Waal, Dame Liz Forgan, Hugh Quarshie, and Rathna Ramanathan. Their collective expertise highlighted the quality and depth of the entries, each of which showed how art can be a powerful tool for global understanding and change. The Seeds of Hope initiative is part of UNESCO UK’s Arts and Culture for Peace programme, first launched in 2022. It has grown from earlier collaborations such as the Coventry Young Ambassadors’ Islands of Peace Japanese Garden , opened in 2021 a living reminder that seeds planted in communities can continue to flourish. Highlights from the ceremony can be found here at this playlist Looking Ahead As Ann Beatty, UNESCO ASPnet UK National Coordinator , shared: “The quality of entries was extraordinary. We are delighted at the response to this amazing initiative in collaboration with our international partners.” And in the words of judge Jannette Cheong : “Young people around the world understand well the value of peace and tolerant relationships between cultures. Their creativity is an inspiration to all of us.” At The Steve Sinnott Foundation, we believe that education is the seed from which hope grows. The Seeds of Hope competition is a shining example of how young people through creativity, compassion, and collaboration are already shaping a more peaceful and sustainable future. You can access the full online awards presentation here: Seeds of Hope For A Better Future Awards Ceremony 2025

Teachers Advance in Guidance and Counselling Training in The Gambia

By Ann Beatty • August 18, 2025
The journey to strengthen the well-being and success of learners in The Gambia continues with a renewed commitment to guidance and counselling in schools. By August 14th 2025, we have successfully trained 140 educators across 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑 & 𝟒 under our Guidance & Counselling Programme. A programme designed to equip educators with the skills to support students’ academic, social, and emotional development. Region 3 Teachers Complete Level 2 Training On Wednesday, 6th August, thirty teachers from Region 3 (North Bank Region) began a three-day Level 2 Guidance and Counselling training at the Christian Council in Kanifing. This programme built on their earlier Level 1 training in Farafenni, with a focus on deepening their capacity to serve as school-based counsellors. The training concluded with a certificate presentation ceremony, recognising the teachers’ commitment and marking an important step in their professional development. These certificates symbolize more than an achievement; they represent each teacher’s readiness to provide psychosocial support, guidance, and mentorship to learners across their schools.