Mansfield woman, 20, acclaimed for voluntary work in India

The inspirational voluntary work in India of a young Mansfield woman has been recognised in Parliament.
Eleanor Frost (centre) with two of the women she helped while in India.Eleanor Frost (centre) with two of the women she helped while in India.
Eleanor Frost (centre) with two of the women she helped while in India.

Eleanor Frost, who is 20, was chosen as one of five women to attend an event at Westminster celebrating their efforts to help others in some of the poorest regions of the world.

She volunteered to go to India to help raise the profile of women in a country where their status is often considered to be undermined. Eleanor worked on a project that focused on gender equality, and also led sessions that raised awareness on menstruation and women’s empowerment.

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“My placement was challenging but fulfilling,” she said. “We addressed damaging stigmas and inequality through sessions and campaigns with everyone, from young children to elderly members of the community.

“One of our main focuses was ensuring better access to information for the girls and women on menstrual health management. It was great to be able to challenge myths around this highly taboo topic and see attitudes change.

“The experience has helped me think more analytically and critically about my further studies in this field.”

Eleanor went to St Patrick’s Primary School in Mansfield, where her mum, Michelle, has taught for more than 25 years, and then All Saints’ Catholic Academy before she studied politics and international relations at the London School of Economics.

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Her strong sense of public duty stems from her father, Paul, who has been heavily involved in Mansfield campaigns to save public services and to fight fracking. “He has been my main source of inspiration for wanting to change the world around me for the better,” she said.

Eleanor travelled to India as part of the UK government-funded International Citizen Service (ICS) programme, led by the development organisation Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), which allows young people, aged 18 to 25, to contribute to development projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The success of her work led to her being put forward as part of an initiative to highlight the hundreds of thousands of women around the UK who give their time and skills to help others across the world.

More than 100 people, including doctors, nurses and campaigners, were nominated, and Eleanor was one of the five selected to visit Parliament, where she met Mansfield MP Ben Bradley and gave a short speech to other MPS and voluntary workers, as well as charities.

Felicity Morgan, a director of ICS at VSO, said: “It was really inspiring to hear about the fantastic work Eleanor did on her placement.”