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Our Positive Periods Program is successfully tackling Period Poverty all over the world

What is our Positive Periods Program?


How it all started


Where are we now

We have now delivered our Positive Periods Program in 4 countries. Starting in Sierra Leone, then in The Gambia, followed by Cuba, and now in Haiti. Each country has taken the foundations of the project and made it their own, completely in keeping with the Steve Sinnott Foundation’s mission to work and collaborate together with other cultures and respect that each area will have its own needs and ways of best tackling a challenge.

Here is an outline of how each country has done this, making our Positive Periods Program the most diverse and effective program for enabling women and girls in diverse parts of the world. Managing periods, gender equality, sexual health, and violence, all affect girls ability to access education, and our programme is flexible enough to help girls challenge these issues.

The Gambia

The Foundation has been working with teachers and educators in The Gambia and Sierra Leone over the past 3 years to pilot a project to enable girls who miss 50 days a year due to having their menstrual period access to reusable period pads. We have called this project “Positive Periods”.


We were invited by the Gambia Teachers Union (GTU) initially to pilot this project and since then we have carried out research on the most effective and sustainable way for all girls to access this opportunity.


To tailor this program to the unique needs of girls the organisers have added in a module to raise awareness of sexual violence and gender equality.


The teachers who have had this training are cascading this training throughout their schools.



Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, Isata M Kamara (project Manager) working with the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) and other community groups has hosted this programme in over 60 schools this year in Makeni, Port Loko, Bo and Kenema.

 

Despite the COVID19 outbreak leading to the closure of schools affecting the implementation of this training taking place in schools, the teachers were determined to ensure the Positive Periods Program did not stop altogether.


Boys and girls, and women and men were all involved in the workshops. They were trained in using both their hands and sewing machines to ensure that that everyone in their various schools could prepare the sanitary pads themselves and cascade this to others.


The training was initially based on health and hygiene, how to take care of themselves, and how to take care of the pads. But as the girls in her workshops talked to Isata about their problems and challenges, she realised that there was more that needed to be done. They asked for training to support themselves and their teachers on the gender-based violence and equality issues that are affecting them in their schools and community. So the organisers have now devised an additional module to raise awareness of sexual violence and gender equality to these workshops.

 

Plans for the future: Everyone is learning together and supporting each other, women and men, boys and girls. There is still much work to do and the team are now working on the most sustainable way of sharing the learning with other schools and communities across rural Sierra Leone.



Cuba

In March 2021 we started the Cuba Positive Periods Programme, named “Iniciativa Duenas” which is part of our initiative to train people in the preparation of reusable sanitary pads or intima as they are called in Cuba. The project is about how to make re-usable pads using sustainable, reusable and washable, long lasting and eco-friendly material. There were also benefits for more senior women, for those who need support with incontinence, and following surgery. 

It incorporated discussion and learning across the generations with grandmas teaching their grandchildren.

 

The participants came together on-line from across 15 women's entrepreneurship and anti-racist struggle groups. They were instructed and communicated with each other through WhatsApp. These sessions took place from their homes, in the provinces of Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The workshops facilitated a space for conversation not only about how to make their own reusable period pads but also about menstrual health for young people.

 

These women will now spread this workshop in their own groups and encourage other women to share it too. This way it will reach more women than we could possibly reach alone.



Haiti

July 2021, in Haiti the project started a few days after the political situation became tense, you can read more about this in our blog post here. If that wasn’t enough during the project there was an earthquake, we ran an appeal for this too. We were not sure if the project would be able to start or continue due to these challenges, however the Haitian spirit shines in the face of any adversity, and they continued regardless. A lighthouse for us all to follow. This program also decided to add in a module of sexual health, pregnancy and gender rights, as that was a related topic very pertinent to the current needs of girls in Haiti right now.

 

Stelandie Jean-François, the young woman in charge started the session introducing the materials the girls would be using and the patterns that they will use to create their own re-usable pads. Her students had no experience sowing so they were learning this skill also. They are very excited to be getting hands on experience making period pads that will help them live a fuller life, and come to school every day.

 

In the meantime, the school nurses drafted the training modules that they will be using for the next phase, the educational sessions. This will ensure that girls and young women know more about menstruation and female health. This supports them to better manage and understand their menstrual health and wellbeing.

 

After this workshop was delivered, staff can be trained on the workshop, and how to deliver it in their respective schools. This way the knowledge is cascaded through to the wider community.



Thank you to our Sponsors

We could not carry out this work without the support of our sponsors Soroptimists International St Albans and District, London Chilterns, Leeds and Selby. NEU Districts and Branches and all the incredible individual donors who support us with regular giving and one-off gifts.


We have also recently secured generous funding from The Openwork Foundation, so we can continue to expand this program to other countries.


You can support here


Plans for the Future

We know this programme works, the feedback from participants has been very positive, they have been instrumental in improving and adapting the training. The most important impact has been the feedback from teacher’s that girls are now coming back to school and they feel they are able to talk about their periods more openly and share solutions.


We have learned that the programme can be replicated and adapted for different needs and it is giving women and girls a voice about other important issues such as gender-based violence. If you have equal access to education you have equal choices.


We are just waiting to roll out the programme in Malawi and Uganda, which has had to be be postponed due to Covid-19. We have 6 other countries waiting to start the programme and the teams are working on sustainability in each country. This project enables women and girls to manage their periods with dignity and pride, it’s a simple solution but we know it is a powerful one.


We hope you will continue to support us on this journey.



More blog posts about our Positive Periods campaign


Videos about our Positive Periods campaign

Steve Sinnott • October 20, 2021

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.

Supporting work for The Federation of Drama Schools

By Melanie Lavery • March 3, 2025
Last year the Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the work of The Federation of Drama Schools by providing financial aid to new graduates, enabling them to take part in an industry showcase at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The showcase is an annual event for Irish graduates who have completed a professional training at one of the Federation’s partner conservatoires in the UK, introducing young actors to the industry they hope to work in. The Federation of Drama Schools partners are institutions that provide conservatoire vocational training for those who want to be professional performers, theatre makers and technical theatre practitioners. The courses they offer are for students of eighteen years and over, who have completed their school level education. In November (2024) fourteen young Irish graduates took part in the showcase and the SSF provided financial support to two graduates who may not otherwise have been able to take part in this showcase, which is a bridge between training and their professional career. Melanie Lavery from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of those who benefitted from this support. Melanie writes of her experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Steve Sinnott Foundation for the support I received, making it possible for me to take part in the Dublin Showcase 2024. The opportunity allowed me to work with graduates from across FDS schools and widen my contacts in the industry. Coming from a socio-economically deprived area, I’ve often missed out on opportunities available to my peers. I have had to spend a lot of energy during my three years in drama school working to support myself and this has meant I often don’t have time to follow up network opportunities. In receiving this sponsorship and taking part in the showcase I have been able to connect with other Irish creatives - the people I am acting opposite, directors, casting directors and agents in the industry. These industry showcases are so important for graduates. It gives us the possibility of networking with industry professionals and hopefully the opportunity of taking that first crucial step into the profession we have trained for. As I studied in Wales, it gave me the chance to return to Ireland and to reach out to creatives there. The Foundation gave me this amazing opportunity to kick start my career in my home country. On the day of the showcase, I had such pride watching my fellow Irish peers performing on stage at Ireland’s National Theatre. Working together throughout the rehearsal period, I got to know them individually and we all helped each other to grow as performers. This showcase has helped me to create my own community of actors around me. When it came to talking with other creatives after the show case, I became so much more aware of how large and welcoming the industry is in Ireland and how much work is being produced here. I think this show case is so important as it highlights how vibrant and growing the industry is in Ireland. I feel so lucky that I was able to take part thanks to the help of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. For more information on the Federation of Drama Schools, professional industry showcases, and it’s partner schools please visit www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk
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