This International Women’s Day, we’re recognising those who support others by taking the time to support the supporters.
We’re delighted to share inspiring stories from our CEO, Jo Beer, and from our Specialist Nurses – Sarah Creagh-Osborne, Rachel Halder, and Sarah Bragg – who reflect on their experiences and the impact they have in advancing opportunities for women and girls.
When We Give, We Gain by Jo Beer, Chief Executive
Several years ago, before COVID, my daughter asked me if – instead of an 18th Birthday present – I would pay for her to volunteer in Ghana. The request made me really emotional in that she had chosen to do something for others instead of herself and also because it was something I had always wanted to do and had regretted not doing before I had children. So, I decided to go with her along with my best friend and her daughter, (and in subsequently my son also joined).
We registered with an agency doing general health checks and education work in Mpraeso, East Kwahu, Ghana and volunteered in schools and health clinics in local communities. It is fascinating and shocking how just a couple of hours from the vibrant capital of Accra, you are in villages without running water or electricity. The volunteer compound was right in the heart of this area and we lived simply. We had access to cold water showers on days when there was water, slept on pallet beds and had a small kitchen. It was in this kitchen we made super noodles as my 50th Birthday meal (and I’ve not been able to eat them since!). As we continued to work with this community an ambulance was donated and shipped over and was invaluable at reaching remote communities and providing a sustainable volunteering option.
I’d like to share three stories with you about access.
Access
We volunteered at Sunrise school – a remote school where the children attended with exuberance and joy. All age groups sharing 4 classrooms, no running water, toilets, toys or food provision. They were excited when international volunteers came to teach and it was mayhem when books and pens were donated. One football brought joy I’ve never seen before – it was truly humbling.
One morning at this school, I noticed a small boy standing outside the school wearing what looked like yellow pyjama bottoms with a large bowl of grain on his head. He can’t have been much more than 7 or 8 years old and he was working. He had big, beautiful eyes and was just staring at all the children playing and having fun. He wasn’t inside because in many schools in Ghana you have to pay and his parents couldn’t afford it.
I shared the story with my friends at home and by the following day I had enough funds to pay his school fees, health insurance, uniform etc. I sought permission from his parents and at that point met the whole family including his younger brother and sister (both of whom at that point were not quite old enough to start school). By this point we committed to send them all to school.
Seven years on, they are still at school. I receive regular photographs and updates and when I see him looking so grown up with his siblings outside Sunrise School, I don’t see charity or rescue. I see something very simple – Access
The difference between a bowl on your head and a book in your hand is Access.
Small Barriers = Big Consequences.
We also met girls missing school every month because they had no sanitary provision. Without pads or appropriate underwear, many simply stayed home. Their education paused because of biology.
So, on our next trip, we had supplies donated through a very dear friend who spent weeks and weeks making washable pads and underwear, following guidance from organisations already doing this work well.
While they weren’t necessarily impressed with the big knickers we presented, they were thrilled with the reusable sanitary ware. It would have immediate impact and meant those girls could stay in school every day of the month.
It taught us all something important:
Inequality is often painfully practical, and a small barrier can have lifelong consequences.
Healthcare and Solidarity
While I was supporting patients to access care in Kumasi hospital, my daughter was in a village two hours away, so remote there were only four dwellings. It was at this village she met Ruth who was about 23 at the time with a young child. Ruth had injured her foot. With no health insurance, local treatment involved crushed snail shells packed into the wound. She was in excruciating pain and evidently septic. We were advised nothing could be done as no health insurance meant no access to treatment. Her foot looked like it had been on a bonfire.
We took her to hospital. She was refused admission because she could not pay. Even when we offered to pay, we were told to buy the buckets, antiseptic and dressings ourselves before she would be seen. Every test, antibiotic and bed day had to be paid for in advance. The system did not protect her. So, we chose not to walk away.
With the help of our network, we were able to raise enough funds so that she could have the necessary treatment – which included surgery and skin grafts once the infection was under control. Once she recovered, we worked with the local team who supported her longer-term independence. Today, Ruth runs her own shop in the market. She trained as a seamstress. She earns her own income.
This was not charity. It was solidarity. Women choosing not to walk away from another woman.
And again – it’s about Access!
Image below – the hospital theatre
The Geography Changes. The Pattern Does Not.
It would be easy to frame these stories as something that happened “over there”. But the truth is, we see those barriers here too.
In Bristol and across our communities, life expectancy varies significantly by postcode. Women still experience period poverty. Women still carry disproportionate economic and caring burdens. Hundreds of women are sleeping rough across Bristol and Plymouth. Through my work with Plymouth Access to Housing, I see how easily people fall through gaps in housing, health and support.
Whether it is a girl in Ghana missing school because she lacks sanitary provision, or a young woman in Bristol navigating poverty or postcode inequality, the barrier is rarely capability.
It is Access.
Access to Education: Access to Healthcare: Access to Housing: Access to Dignity: Access to Leadership.
My experience in Ghana magnified my commitment to the principle of healthcare free at the point of delivery. It is not just a policy position; it is a moral one. I have seen first hand what happens when access depends on ability to pay.
That is why I am fiercely protective of what we provide.
What I Gained
I thought hard about whether to share this particular volunteering story over some of the other volunteering I’ve done in the UK. International volunteering carries sensitivities that I am acutely aware of, but it changed my life and my children’s lives so I’m sharing it anyway.
It gave us perspective. It reframed our privilege. It gave us lifelong relationships. It reminded us how much we take for granted.
Giving does not diminish you. It feeds your soul.
It sharpens your perspective. It makes you deeply grateful, for family, for community, for the NHS, for the freedoms we overlook and take for granted. It reminds you that where we have access, we have responsibility.
Volunteering did not make me feel heroic. It made me feel humbled and I see the same thing in women who volunteer here in homeless charities, food banks, community groups, mentoring schemes. Women who give their time, skill, voice and protection to others.
They are not weaker for giving, they are stronger.
When We Give, We Gain
International Women’s Day is not only about recognising inequality.
It is about asking: where will we choose to act?
In my role, giving means:
- Sponsoring women into stretch opportunities.
- Publicly giving credit where it is due.
- Challenging bias when it appears quietly.
- Protecting those who speak uncomfortable truths.
- Investing in services that widen access for those who might otherwise be excluded.
Because when women gain access, society gains strength.
When we give time, influence and solidarity, lives change and we gain too.
We gain perspective. We gain purpose. We gain connection. We gain strength.
One Person at a Time
When I was in Ghana, on the hard days we all used to say:
You can’t change the world for everyone, but you can change it for one person at a time.
I found myself repeating those words recently at our culture events at Sirona. Looking out at colleagues and thinking about how we improve working lives, how we shift culture, how we tackle inequality, the answer isn’t one sweeping gesture.
It is one person at a time.
One child in a classroom.
One woman gaining healthcare.
One colleague being sponsored, supported.
One voice heard.
One barrier quietly removed.
If each of us widened access for just one person, imagine the compound effect.
“You can’t change the world for everyone, but you can change it for someone.”
And if we all did that, the world would look very different.
When we give, we gain.
Giving Knowledge and Support by Rachel Halder, Specialist Community Public Health Nurse
In my role as a school nurse, I share knowledge and skills with mothers, taking out time to listen to them, containing their worries and empowering them with strategies so they can support their children and families. I respect every young girl or young person during my interactions as a unique individual ensuring their voice is heard and they are well supported. This would include understanding their additional needs, culture, beliefs and ambitions. I pro-actively share information with young people to develop autonomy and thrive. As a team, we celebrate success, give feedback and support development.
Giving Resources and Safety by Sarah Creagh-Osbourne, UNISON Steward and Senior Diabetes Specialist Nurse
As a trade union rep for UNISON I try to ensure all women are treated fairly and with respect in the workplace. Around three quarters of UNISONs membership are women. Many workplace issues disproportionately affect women, so trade unionists work to change that. Sometimes women lack the confidence to speak up for themselves, being part of a trade union means we don’t have to stand up alone. International Women’s Day was established over 100 years ago to celebrate the struggle of women in sweat shops in New York for the vote and trade union recognition. When we look at the world around us, we can see it’s important we remember that tradition and continue the fight for our rights today. I find standing up for myself and others gives me strength and hope.
Giving Role Model and Donations by Sarah Bragg, Specialist Family Nurse
Last March I completed the world major marathons in Tokyo, it took a total of 7 years to complete when I started this challenge, I wasn’t a runner, I was unfit and couldn’t run a minute without stopping. Most of my marathons I have raised money for good causes (mostly for children). There is only a total of 7890 women in the world to have completed this challenge and what I am even more proud of is the fact that I had some extremely difficult circumstances going on in the background which also contributed to making this even more difficult.
