Gigi Ermoyenous Ambassador for our Positive Periods Project

Gigi Ermoyenous explains her motivation for becoming an ambassador for the Steve Sinnott Foundation, and why our Positive Periods Project is so important to her.

Gigi Ermoyenous: I'm in the final year of sixth form and preparing to take my A-levels. I'm also an ambassador for The Steve Sinnott Foundation’s Positive Periods Project, as well as for the charity Period Power.

The challenges caused by menstruation, and the unfairness of period poverty, are two things that for as long as I can remember I have cared about. In 2017 I worked with my school to set up dignity boxes in toilets. I believe that period products are needed just as much as toilet paper, and as one is provided for free, the other should be too.

Environmental impact

My other passion when discussing periods is the benefit of reusable products. People need to be aware of the massive amount of plastic and chemical usage in period products. 90% of pads are plastic, that’s the equivalent of about four carrier bags per product. Not only is this harmful to the environment but also potentially to bodies too, alongside fragrances, beaches, gelling agents, and are causing environmental and health problems.

The most common menstrual products are veritable cornucopia of plastic. Tampons come wrapped in plastic, some encased in plastic applicators, with plastic strings, and most surprisingly include plastic in the body of the tampon. Pads generally incorporate even more plastic, from the leak proof base, the synthetics to absorb fluid, to the packaging, then there are the chemical absorbers, fillers and lubricants, plus chemical and pesticide residues from the manufacturing process.

This is why I campaign to raise awareness of reusable sanitary products. They are a cheaper and more eco-friendly choice.

Helping girls stay in school

A couple of years ago I met The Steve Sinnott Foundation at an NEU (National Education Union) meeting where I learnt about their Positive Periods Project.

I feel honoured and proud to have been invited to work with The Steve Sinnott Foundation. Their Positive Period Project aims to teach communities how to make reusable period packs. We support women in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Malawi, Haiti and Cuba who struggle to afford period products. This causes them to suffer social stigma, and their education to stop. The Positive Periods Project teaches women and pupils in schools, to make their own reusable period pads from fabric and resources that they can source locally.

Positive Periods is creating independent women who manage their periods with dignity and pride. Girls miss approximately 52 days of education a year due to a lack of period products, and facilities to dispose of them properly. Once girls start to miss school, they often do not return.

Our project is proven to increase and prolong school attendance for girls, and benefits the local economy as the materials are sourced locally. Reusable pads are fairly easy to make and can stay in good condition for years. I've had a go at making some for myself, my family and friends, and intend to introduce the project in my school’s twin college, Asiky College in Namatumba Uganda.

A while ago pupils from my school carried out some research about periods and Asiky College. The results showed that most girls worried about getting their period while at school, and have missed school days because of their periods. An overwhelming number of pupils use items such as rags, newspapers, feathers, or over used disposable sanitary products. This of course can cause many different types of health problems.

The point of the Positive Periods Project is to ensure that girls around the world no longer have to experience this discomfort and indignity linked to their periods. Something that is natural and unavoidable for most women, and should be treated as such.

Thank you for the support

We are especially grateful to everyone who supported this work so far including the NEU and The Open Work Foundation for all their support with this project.

This project speaks to me of something empowering and inspiring. I wish to work with The Steve Sinnott Foundation in the next couple of years to gain first-hand experience. For now however, I will do everything I can to keep this project running, because we all struggled through the Covid pandemic.

I implore you all to donate what you can to support the Positive Periods Project. If you would like to find out what you can do to support the Positive Periods Project, please get in touch with Ann at ann.beatty@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk or you can support now with our Gift Of Giving for Positive Periods.

Find out more about the our Positive Periods Project here.

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Gigi Ermoyenous • February 16, 2022

Sparks Bristol

By Ann Beatty • April 4, 2025

Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.

Spring is Here! Looking Ahead!

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Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.

Igniting a movement for education for all

By Hannah Frisch • March 7, 2025

The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.