MEET OUR INSP IRING WINNER! When we launched our search for Britain's most inspirational Women

[Alison J Stevens]

MEET OUR INSP IRING WINNER! When we launched our search for Britain's most inspirational woman, we were inundated with nominations. But one stood out — 4ft 10in Sylvie Silver, a pocket dynamo whose size belies her huge achievements transforming the lives of others
0 Comments | Daily Mail (London, England), The, May 12,

'The staff at one care home I visited in Hampshire had created a pub in one of the rooms where they held their "pub quiz" nights. One of the manager's sons was a kitchen fitter and he'd created this pub from scratch, and all the residents really appreciated it.

'Many people dread getting old and going into a care home, and there is a fear of ageing in this country.

'But sometimes going into a care environment can be the best thing if there is someone there to make sure it is a rich experience. It can be very isolating living alone in your own home with carers flying in and out four times a day.' Sylvie admits to feeling 'totally overwhelmed' when she discovered she'd not only been nominated, but selected to be a finalist for the Mail's Inspirational Women..











'When Sally told me what she'd done, I joked: "You'll be done for fraud!" I just couldn't believe it and I felt very humbled.' As for winning such a prestigious award, Sylvie still can't quite believe it, even though seeing the success of her air cadets and the joy that NAPA has brought to so many older people is reward in itself.

She may be only 4ft 10in, but today she's walking very tall indeed.

AND THE OTHER FINALISTS ...

THE FAMILY SAVIOUR Alison Stevens, 51, from Leicestershire.

TWENTY-FOUR years ago social services took away Alison's three-year-old son, Scott, after mistakenly deciding he was being abused. In fact, doctors should have diagnosed brittle bone disease when Scott broke his leg. Mother and son were reunited, but the incident inspired Alison's work as head of Parents Against Injustice (PAIN). She fits in her demanding, unpaid work around her full-time nursing job. This month her three-year quest with John Hemming MP to make family courts more accountable succeeded as journalists and charity representatives have finally been allowed to attend case conferences.

But Alison insists it is her day-to-day work with parents that remains most important to her. 'In the past month, I've had three families reunited.

That's the best news you can ever hear.'


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