Cuba Positive Periods

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 was about how to make re-usable pads using sustainable, reusable and washable, long lasting and eco-friendly material.

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.

There were also benefits for more senior women, for those who need support with incontinence, and following surgery. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak and the recent challenges in Cuba the women who contributed to this project were able to learn together, progress, and deliver the Positive Periods workshops.

Here is a short film about this project called 'Abuela (Grandma)'.

Thank you to the organisers

Norma Guillard, Naima Guillard and Rosaida Ochoa Soto were the women who organised the sessions, that they have named “Duenas Initiative.”

We formed a trio...

To facilitate this workshop we were able to count on Naima Torres. A craftswoman who thought about how she was going to come up with the idea of running this workshop through WhatsApp. That's where we need Rosaida Ochoa for our team. That's why we formed a trio to do this programme and looked for a way to get it to a different member of each anti-racist and anti-homophobia group that we knew. Each of these groups sent one member and that member then agreed to pass this knowledge on to other members of her group.

- Norma Guillard Limonta Project Manager Cuba

I am very grateful…

It was a very nice experience because it had been a long time since I had sat at the machine. And this course had given me great emotions because it has inspired me to do more things apart from making the sanitary pads, and other things that I had been thinking about doing for a long time. I am very grateful to Ann Beatty for this idea, because I didn't really believe in it, I don't know, I saw as an in person activity not as a WhatsApp group with several different people, because as it is something so intimate, I didn't think that it would be so effective for people who have not only taken it for sanitary pads, but also for other things.

- Naima Alena Guillard

I never imagined that these would be days of online solidarity...

One day I received a proposal from Doña Norma. It was to take part in a workshop to make handmade sanitary pads. Initially the idea seemed like a bit of a dream and I didn't have much confidence in the results, but since I love a new challenge and I accepted, and I repeat, I didn't expect satisfactory results!

However, The days that followed were full of enthusiasm and dynamism. Days of meeting new people, exchanging ideas, camaraderie, in short: days of online solidarity (that's what I called them). Between measuring, cutting and sewing, the sanitary pads were taking shape. In those eight days, we felt neither the anxiety of confinement nor the problems of shortages caused by the pandemic.

Thanks to the workshop coordinators for such a wonderful and necessary idea in these uncertain times. And to the other members, it was an immense pleasure to share those days.

There are not enough words to describe what we experienced during the workshop.

I hope that another workshop like this one will be possible to be organized again, for the unity and the empowerment of women.

- Rosaida Ochoa Soto

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us to do this project. You can help us here to do more of these projects too.

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Project Manager Cuba : Norma Guillard Limonta • October 18, 2021

Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders - Competition 2025

By Ann Beatty • August 15, 2025

Mike Fleetham of Thinking Classroom has written a book " Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders ". A collection of original ideas, advice from professionals, quotes, and tips to support and inspire all leaders. Perfect for new and established leaders working in education, especially headteachers. "Being a headteacher is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an aeroplane." To Enter the Competition To win a copy of Headlines please share your inspiring education or life lesson in no more than 600 words. The winning article will also be published in our next edition of Engage. Send your words of inspiration to admin@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk 📅 Deadline: 5th September 2025⁠ Stuck on Ideas? Here are some questions and prompts to get you started! What’s the one lesson school didn’t teach you, but life did? Think of a moment that changed your path, what happened? What piece of advice has helped you grow the most? When did a challenge turn into an opportunity for you? What story from your life would inspire someone on the other side of the world? What’s the life lesson that unlocked your next chapter? ⁠ Your words could uplift, empower and be seen by many. Let your story inspire the world! 🌍💡⁠ Good luck and we cant wait to read all the entries!

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By Ann Beatty • July 8, 2025

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A Get Moving Fundraiser - Ann's 60 Miles Walk

By Ann Beatty • June 30, 2025

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