‘I hope for the young women (involved in Project Catalyst)  to grow and develop into the young activists...and they change things for themselves and the culture that they have inherited”. Gemma Green, Project Coordinator and Lilliah Butcher, Project consultant, talk about what inspires them, what they have learnt about themselves and how the  PARCS Project Catalyst has evolved into an Activism project for young women aged 16-24.

* Please note that this episode was recorded online and in isolation during lock-down and elements of the audio may be slightly compromised.

‘If I could give my younger self any advice it would be (that) you don’t have to live in pain…get this sorted now’   Jodie Hughes is founder of Endometriosis South Coast and was an Inspirational woman of portsmouth Community Category Finalist. In this episode, Jodie gives an insight to the many seasons of sacrifice and resilience  which has led her to pursue a doctorate based around her Endometriosis research (though she definitely was not a fan of neuroscience ! ).

Jodie has also set up a crowd fund to raise money for her new not for profit organisation Endometriosis South Coast. Jodie will soon be shaving her hair and can be supported by following the link : https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/jodies-head-shave?fbclid=IwAR1WMC8o7HQdCi_ds2ARw_ahkZoooK7_vNIImxBt56CgDfsGj8cQ5hpnzps

* Please note that this episode was recorded online and in isolation during lock-down and elements of the audio may be slightly compromised. 

‘In the January, I had my leg off. Within 6 weeks I was up and walking along Southsea seafront with my best friend'.  Lorraine Lambert is the Sports category Inspirational Women of  Portsmouth Award Recipient. She is a Paralympic athlete, motivational speaker, sports instructor & trained counsellor and is due to represent Great Britain in the next (postponed) Paralympics games. In this episode she talks about how her determination to overcome adversity saw her representing Portsmouth and competing in her first sports competition five months after her amputation.  

Lorraine is also working with British Shooting on a fundraising challenge for the the the NHS and all the volunteers. In place of the postponed opportunity to travel to Japan for the Paralympic games, the virtual challenge will involve  the British Shooting team collectively hand-biking, running, cycling, walking and running the 8200 miles by road. You can find out more and support the opportunity by following the link:

Jasmine Bone is a Pamodzi Creatives Apprentice who in her own words ‘absolutely loves science !’ so we put her in charge of our special women in STEM podcast in support of the University of Portsmouth Global & International College Portsmouth (ICP) #MySTEMjourney project. In this podcast, Jasmine talks to Nayaab & Emila about the people that inspired and enabled their STEM journey. They also talk about the challenges and opportunities of being a young woman of colour studying and building a career in a male dominated STEM industry (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

You can read more about Nayaab and Emilia, as well as other students involved in the #MySTEMjourney project on University of Portsmouth Global’s myworldinportsmouth.com blog

Southsea Bathing Hut began with a mission to revive Portsmouth’s lost soap-making heritage. Today, founder Samantha Worsey and her team make a complete range of natural skincare products inspired by the seaside. Meeting Samantha was a delightful lesson in the art of skincare and thalassotherapy. She also spoke about the journey of building a creative business and some of the challenges along the way.