I have a confession to make.

With that tantalising hook extended, I am going to tell you about anemia instead. Anemia - a low blood iron level - is typically seen as a minor ailment, a Western invention to keep us occupied in our stupor of wealth, much like cheese strings and Tamagotchi pets.

Anemia kills new mothers. It makes women too weak to work and causes young girls to miss vital schooling.

I’m not even a doctor, just a 22 year old teaching assistant from South Manchester. You might be wondering why I was so special to be sent to a developing country through no cost of my own. Well the truth is I’m not; I read about Platform2 in my local paper and like most, I believed it was too good to be true.

 
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'BOMBS' IN THE PINK CITY
 
The detonations are so penetrating I feel they have reset my heartbeat. One particularly boisterous explosion set car alarms howling down the street. Throughout the night the people of Jaipur, the Pink City, scream and shriek as we westerners sleep.

Relax - we are not in a warzone! It has been Diwali this week across India.

Wow!!

My poem came about as a result of my experience in India, but it is certainly is not limited to there. Gender inequality in education is recognised through the‘Millennium Development Goals’ which were created at the UN Millennium Summit in New York in 2000. Retrospectively, my poem fits into Millennium Development Goal two, namely ‘Achieve universal primary education.’ One of the most startling facts is that in many countries, girls are still given fewer opportunities than boys to complete primary school and enrol in secondary schools.

Hi all, never written a blog before but I'm gonna try my best!

I heard about Platform2 when my best friend applied a few months ago, he is now in India and I am going to Ghana in a few days. Unlike most of the other former editors I haven’t been on a P2 project yet and am still in the preparation phase. To be honest I don’t have a clue how to prepare, I’m getting my injections and sorting out insurance and the rest but frankly there isn’t much to do on that front as P2 sort it all out for you. I just filled in a few forms, went to an interview and got poked in the arm a few times, now I’m off to Africa!

I am currently teaching at a local college.  My role involves both teaching English and mentoring pre-16 students who have been excluded from mainstream education. I also work closely with children that suffer from autism. In terms of my voluntary work I am still heavily involved with the Midlands Art Centre in Birmingham as a board member. 

I am still active with Platform2. I chair the Birmingham meetings, which Platform2 returnees attend. Recently, I finished performing Poverty Monologues at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.