Jessy Nkhoma: Steve Sinnott Foundation Young Ambassador in Malawi

In 2019, I had the opportunity of being a Steve Sinnott Foundation (SSF) Young Ambassador and working with Send My Fried to School in the U.K.

Being an SSF ambassador and working with Send My Friend to School has been a great opportunity for me. I learnt a lot of things:

a) How to raise our voice as young people in the world.

b) Awareness and understanding of my own community and our culture and how that sits with other cultures of the world.

c) The pleasure of interacting with different people in the U.K.

I very much enjoyed meeting different people from different cultures, when I visited the schools, mainly in London but in other parts of the UK as well. It was very hard for me as it was the first time leaving my country.

I really enjoyed campaigning for Education For All with the other send My Friend to School ambassadors and they helped me to learn more about Sustainable Development Goal 4 -SDG4, which is about ensuring that all children have access to inclusive, equitable and quality education. Education being the key to success in life. I have realised that it is my responsibility to campaign for better and affordable education worldwide. Both girls and boys must have access to education.

During my trip to the UK I have benefited from meeting different people, how to raise my voice and to be heard by the masses concerning education and climate change. I learnt about the differences and similarities in the UK and Malawi. I have learnt what my fellow peers are doing to combat climate change. I also learnt to keep struggling when dealing with difficult situations. It is my choice to measure the impact I am personally having on climate change and those in my community.

My best moment was speaking to the crowd at the Climate Strike outside Parliament. I did enjoy speaking at the party conferences, visiting a museum, many schools and a university and a football stadium but I enjoyed most the feeling of solidarity and the shared passion to make a change through campaigning at the climate strike.

Since returning to Malawi, I have continued to use my voice and talk to people about the devastating effects of climate change. I have spoken with many young people at school and college and in my community.

It is difficult for young people to have their voices heard in Malawi, many young people are uneducated as they cannot afford education. When I talk to young people about climate changes they are often not interested as they don’t understand the basics due to lack of education opportunities.

I have personally spoken with Tailors Boopngue, member of parliament to raise the issue of climate change and lack of education for all. We discussed some ideas on how we can make a real impact on climate change in Malawi.

In the future I am looking forward to continuing the campaign for Education for All as I believe that education will have a real impact on climate change. I am also looking forward to continuing my own education, which has not been easy due to affordability and my family are poor, so it is difficult to pay for school fees and materials. I am studying hard for my exams in June 2022.

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Jessy Nkhoma • December 5, 2021

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!

By Ann Beatty • March 28, 2025

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.