This year pelvic roar has hit the floor running and for once I don’t mean the pelvic floor. The
Pelvicroar team have done an amazing job of setting up the first ever Pelvicroar conference
with some amazing and inspiring speakers, raising a incredible £12,563.75. Split between two
great charities Well-being of Women and the Halo project. Following the conference’s success,
the Pelvicroar team didn’t rest on their laurels for long. Following up with a webinar from
Posture Fitting physiotherapist Siobhán O’Donovan in support of Stoma Chameleon, who is
doing a fundraising campaign for the Birth Trauma Association.
So let’s take a closer look at what these incredible charities do.
Well-being of women invests in women’s health related research. Focusing on three areas,
pregnancy and birth complications, gynaecology cancers and well-being issues including
incontinence and endometriosis. Their research projects include funding, the set up of six UK
research centres. The first was the Harris Birthright Centre for Fetal Medicine at King’s College
hospital in London in 1983. The Harris Birthright Centre treat over 10,000 patients annually with
additional specialist clinics, for miscarriage, surgery and renal. They are currently funding Dr
Sarah Kitson’s project which hopes to develop a tool for GP’s to screen women between the
ages 40-55 for risk of developing womb cancer. Professor Krina Zondervan’s project, ‘unravelling
the association between endometriosis and auto-immune diseases’. Amongst various other
incredible life changing projects.
In the UK, there are approximately 12 reported honour killings per year and South Asian females
are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than their caucasian counterparts. The Halo project
supports victims of honour based violence, forced marriage and FGM. As well as supporting
victims of trafficking, sham marriage, hate crime, domestic violence and modern slavery. The
halo project works with other agencies to provide emergency support, such a finding a safe place
live, gaining police protection, court order protection and help women understand what welfare &
benefits they maybe entitled too. As well as providing essential basics such as food, clothes,
toiletries and toys. Alongside this they provide training and outreach programmes to schools,
safeguarding agencies, Social services and the Police.
Stoma chameleon is a fundraising Champaign, raising money for Birth Trauma Association. The
Champaign is lead by the incredible Gill Castle. In 2011 Gill suffered a missed 4th degree tear,
resulting in a recto-vaginal fistula and permanent stoma. Gill’s blog and website is inspirational,
proofing that you can, live life to the full with a stoma. Gill has been skydiving, scuba diving,
completed in half Ironman competitions and open water swimming. Gill's current campaign from
21st October 2020 to 1st May 2021 is open water swimming wearing just a bikini, silicone hat
and goggles. She has even gone the extra mile, when the sea is too rough, she gets into an
outdoor bath of cold water. Gill is certainly a lot braver than l am, I get chilblains from walking in
the kitchen without slippers. So if you haven't already donated to this incredible cause, there is
still plenty of time to get involved and donate and share her page.
By Ellen Louise Hellard
