Population Matters- Empower to Plan

This was a special day for us! The Population Matters Annual Conference. And there at the entrance was a billboard of two teenage girls holding hands wearing our bracelets!! This wonderful charity is something I’ve talked about before, at length! The Population Matters
‘Empower to Plan’ funding has helped us significantly in our start up, allowing us to afford good educational resources and the freedom to make this journey our own. It somehow brought it all home to me that day to see that billboard. All puffed up and proud was how I felt as I took my seat in that auditorium.

An inspirational day of bold brilliant women like Dr Edu Effiom, Director of Biodiversity at Nigeria’s Cross River State Forestry Commission or Dr Winnie Kiiru of the Elephant Protection Initiative.

I was also introduced to the dynamic Philip Lymbery CEO of the charity Compassion in World Farming, and to top it all off I got to finish my book ‘Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates on the way home, cradling a large cup of tea feeling drunk on inspiration and awe.

Happy Days!!

This picture is of me and Professor John Guillebaud on the day (also in one of our bracelets!)-
another rather legendary individual!

 

The value of start up support

The first flickers of an idea for this charity came to me when I walked into Outwood Academy Portland  in Worksop back in 2015.

Thank you Mr Gavin Swinscoe, Academy Principal and all round supporter, for inviting me into the school to take weekly ‘girl groups’ with your fantastically brilliant and dedicated TA (and much much more), Kerry Morris. Kerry and I shared tears of laughter and joy in those sessions and I treasure the memories and all those questions your female students asked of us and each other.

The work you do in your school is tremendous and hugely important. Those months I spent coming in every Thursday lunchtime were a pleasure and a privilege.