Visiting Cuba with the Steve Sinnott Foundation

In April this year, I had the privilege of visiting Cuba with the CEO, Ann (my grandmother). It was a great experience although I was shocked at how run down the country was in terms of buildings and facilities. However, that doesn’t seem to affect people in the way they live their daily lives and the positive attitudes they have, whether in the city or the rural areas.

I was there to assist Ann to record the various meetings and workshops and there were many. We had to travel 8 hours by bus from Havana to Santa Clara. Before that we had to travel to the bus station to get the tickets as there is not an operational online system as many Cuban people do not have internet within their homes. One of the first things I noticed in Havana is that there are no cameras on every street corner.

My biggest disappointment was the food, we have such a wide selection of cuisines in the U.K. I guess I am spoilt for choice on a daily basis. This is not the situation in Cuba as they can only obtain seasonal fruit and vegetables (which is a good thing I guess) and sometimes, they cannot transport these from the rural areas due to fuel shortages. They also have a shortage of daily staples that we take for granted like milk, bread and eggs. I would advise anyone travelling to Cuba to bring some seasonings in their suitcase to add spice to the food.

Education in Cuba is free and from what I saw it seemed good but the difficulties are with obtaining educational resources for schools for example printing books. I found that women do not have the same opportunities and I witnessed racial discrimination, which surprised me.

The projects that the Foundation support such as Positive Periods could have a much wider reach with just a little bit more financial support to enable supplies to reach the country. It feels so unfair that women and girls cannot afford periods pads and this is not just a problem in Cuba it is worldwide. I was told that when people visit that they bring western period pads into the country and hand them out but that is not sustainable. It’s like the saying goes “teach a person to fish………the same applies to this project, once a girl has learned the skill of sewing her own period pads she has that skill for life and is independent of others.

Meeting teachers in Cuba and remembering meeting Billy Jean from Haiti a few years ago, reminded me of the differences between educational opportunities in different parts of the world.

Education in the U.K. in my humble opinion is very rigid and although education is compulsory, it is not equitable as we are unable to provide creativity and artistic opportunities for all children. Not all children are academic and they need different ways of expressing themselves, such as through music and art and parents cannot always afford to pay for these lessons. Children with mental health or SEN needs are often lost in the rigid system and unable to learn and flourish.

Whilst I witnessed fantastic music lessons and vibrant learning in Cuba, I am not convinced that there are equal opportunities to learning across the world and that is why charities like this Foundation are needed to plug these gaps.

On my return I decided to raise funds to support this work and I hope you will support me

https://www.justgiving.com/page/kaylemfightingforall

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Kaylem • June 26, 2024

An Education Revolution

By Ann Beatty • April 6, 2025

This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us.

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.