The three-year pilot project is a collaboration between Ealing-based Helium Capital and The Hygiene Bank
A new project to tackle hygiene poverty in Ealing has delivered the first products to students and families in need. Students and staff at Featherstone High School in Southall recently welcomed Shamir Dawood and Amy Hamilton-Wason of Helium Capital, alongside CEO of The Hygiene Bank, Ruth Brock, to the school to distribute hygiene products ranging from period products to shampoo. The school is one of three in the area that have signed up to work with the partners as part of a three-year pilot project to tackle hygiene poverty as a critical barrier to school attendance, wellbeing and the long-term economic participation of young people across London.
The project, titled “Breaking the Cycle: Hygiene Access, School Engagement and Future Economic Participation” is the first of its kind in the area and will start by supporting three schools in the borough. For Dawood, newly appointed ambassador of The Hygiene Bank, the need in Ealing is evident, and reflects the wider need throughout London and the country to address a lack of access to basic hygiene products.
“When I think about what I’d like the future to be, I can’t imagine a world where young people have their dignity compromised by a lack of access to basic hygiene products and where potential is lost to easily solvable problems. We’re excited to be moving forward with this project that offers immediate support for an immediate need,” says Dawood.
According to research done in 2025 by The Hygiene Bank and smol, UK teachers estimate that nearly 3 million school children experienced hygiene poverty in the past year, with affected pupils missing more than one week of school annually as a direct result. This equates to over 23 million days of learning lost each year. The new project aims to change that, by intervening early and reducing barriers to school attendance and participation.
The morning distribution session at Featherstone High School gave partners the opportunity to meet with school staff as well as two young student leaders, Deiwin Kanit and Shinepreet Kaur, to learn more about the impact these items will have over time. They also heard directly from the students about the need, based on their own reflections and experience serving the community. Close partnership with participating schools, like Featherstone, as well as survey data collected, will make it possible to provide measurable feedback as the project progresses.
Ruth Brock, CEO of The Hygiene Bank, expressed “The scale of hygiene poverty faced by families across the UK is shocking and the impact this has on individual lives is profound. Hygiene poverty causes extraordinary day to day misery, but evidence increasingly shows us how it’s limiting long term life chances. Bullying, shame and school absence often follow hygiene poverty – The Hygiene Bank exists to change that and to campaign for a future where everyone has the basics they need to stay clean, healthy and ready to fulfil their potential. We can’t do this alone, so we’re delighted to be working with Helium Capital and schools in Ealing to begin to tackle the problem together. We believe this partnership will deliver important short term relief to families in the borough, but that more importantly we’ll be helping young people stay clean, comfortable and in class, ready to learn and looking forward to a bright future.”
Local residents can also support The Hygiene Bank Ealing by donating products at the collection point in their local Boots store, or finding their nearest drop off point on our website. You can read more about Breaking the Cycle, and our partnership with Helium Capital here.
