Our Projects

Our Projects

Changing Lives Through Education

Positive Periods

Girls miss up to a quarter of their school time, because they do not have the facilities to manage their periods. Our programme teaches educators and students about menstrual health and how to make their own period pads. This enables teachers and educators to help their students to stay in school, by understanding the issues and teaching them how to make re-usable pads that they can make themselves. They are made using locally sourced materials, affordable, sustainable, reusable and washable, long lasting, comfortable and very importantly eco-friendly.

This is a sustainable approach to the challenge faced by women and girls all over the world. So far, we have run this programme in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Haiti and Cuba, which has impacted over 160’000 women annually so far. Each area takes ownership of the programme and runs it in their own unique way, that will have maximum impact in their context and culture.

Storytelling

Everyone in every community has compelling stories to share and the contribution that storytelling can make to education is incalculable. Above all, storytelling is crucial if we want to facilitate understanding between different cultures around the world. We believe that out of that understanding will come support, solidarity and a determination to achieve the Foundation’s broader goals.

So, we’re finding, collecting and sharing the world’s stories. We’re running storytelling events, participating in carnivals, screening inspiring films, exploring the spoken and the written word, producing songs, beautiful short films, videos and podcasts that engage, delight and foster empathy between peoples.

By facing our challenges together in our stories, we can share our solutions in our daily lives and grow to better understand ourselves and each other.

Learning Resource Centres

Working with partners on the ground we have developed Learning Resource Centres in Nepal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Haiti.

The learning resource centres provide educators with access to a wide range of professional development materials, digital connectivity and online courses, curriculum materials, books and creative media. These resources support educators in enhancing their teaching skills, staying up-to-date with current research and best practice and this continuous learning results in improved students’ outcomes. The centres also serve as a connective hub for collaborating and networking.

Training Educators and Continued Professional Development

We have supported CPD programs in Cape Verde, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, The Gambia, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Senegal. Here are some current examples.

We are supporting Prevention of Gender Based Violence Workshops, training teachers and educators on the importance of gender equality and creating a safe learning environment for women and girls.

Supporting educators to develop annual programmes tailored to the needs of the schools and the region:

Supporting students with Additional Educational Needs
Counselling Skills for Educators Levels 1 and 2.
Digital Connectivity Solutions that work

Mother Tongue Literacy Programmes

Haitian Kreyòl Literacy Programme – Disseminating a literacy programme in Haitian Kreyòl. Working in partnership with Cuban and Haitian teachers to develop and disseminate a literacy programme in Haitian Kreyòl. Children are still taught to read and write in French, which is a language many of them do not speak at home. This is a huge learning barrier for many children, as well as perpetuating cultural colonialism and devaluing national identity.

Early Grade Reading In Ghana - Supporting the development of the ‘A Big Book’ project – a partnership between the Ghana Education Service, and the UK based Educators International. This project will provide, in Ghana’s Northern Region, bilingual early-grade reading materials developed by Ghanaian teachers.

Life Long Learning Webinar Series

From mid 2020 we have been running regular webinars on Wednesday afternoons, to support educators during the pandemic. The webinars are carefully selected to support teaching & learning, health & wellbeing, and creativity.

Our partners and educators have been sharing their knowledge and skills across the globe, to raise funds for developing projects to combat the digital divide which became all too apparent during the pandemic.

We have developed these webinars into online education resources for educators to use in their own time. They include bitesize activities to do, examples of good practice, information and downloadable PDF workbooks.

Accessing education during COVID19

We are enormously concerned about the impact that coronavirus has had and will continue to have on vulnerable people who do not have access to adequate learning resources or indeed, in many cases, advice and information. We were able to provide home learning resources, information and support, so that children could still learn safely during times of isolation.

In The Gambia many remote communities do not have access to the internet. The government provided lessons by radio, but many students did not have radios or continuous power to run them. We were able to provide solar radios and home learning resources so that hundreds of students were able to continue to learn during lockdowns.

UNESCO ASPnet Network

We are part of the ASPnet network exchanging knowledge, materials and good practice in education. This uses three complementary approaches:

1. Creating: As a laboratory of ideas, ASPnet develops, tests and disseminates innovative educational materials and promotes new teaching and learning approaches based on UNESCO's core values and priorities.

2. Teaching & Learning: Capacity-building, innovative teaching and participative learning in specific ASPnet thematic areas allow school principals, teachers, students and the wider school community to integrate UNESCO's values and become role models in their community and beyond.

3. Interacting: ASPnet gives its stakeholders opportunities to connect and exchange experiences, knowledge and good practices with schools, individuals, communities, policy-makers and society as a whole.

Interested schools and teacher training institutions may apply here to join the network.

More Information

Promoting Education For All In The UK

This project has grown from working with 400 schools to over 4,000 schools and community groups. Our work encourages children to learn about and understand different cultures; promotes critical thinking, teaches campaigning skills and helps them to get actively involved in working to extend the benefits of education to everybody. Here are some examples of what we do:

• Bringing children to join the Notting Hill Carnival parade in various national costumes to learn about the countries in which we work.

• Storytelling resource and activities, sharing the results with children around the world.

• Supported a Robotics competition for primary schools.

• Showing solidarity with the millions of children who are unable to access education across the globe by singing and sharing our campaign song “A Better Place to Be".

Building Schools in Nepal

Building schools in Nepal’s Palpa District. This was the Steve Sinnott Foundation’s first overseas project. In partnership with Manisha UK, the Steve Sinnott Foundation has helped build and develop a number of schools in the western region of Nepal. These schools provide free education to some of Nepal’s isolated communities. The Steve Sinnott Foundation has enabled Manisha UK to develop an annual teacher training programme tailored to the needs of the schools and region. The programme offers continued support throughout the school year via the placement of volunteer senior teachers and Newly Qualified Teachers.