This week’s SoroptiVoice comes from Suba Parthiban, SIE’s Programme Executive. Here she gives an overview of some of the fantastic projects SIE clubs have been responsible for. These projects were recently recognised at the SIE Board and Governors meeting in Palermo, Italy which met at the end of May. Well done to all! 

The Board
and the Governors of Soroptimist International of Europe met in Palermo, Italy
end of May for the Governors’ Meeting 2011. During the meeting, the winners of
the 2011 SI/E Best Practice Awards for the most outstanding projects in each of
the ten Programme Focus Objectives were announced. As part of the Federation
Programme Team, I was very impressed by the nominations and to choose the
winners was challenging! Each and every project was well developed and
successfully executed. In recognition of the Federation theme, two winners were
chosen for PFO 5 ‘Improve access to clean water, sanitation and essential food
resources”: one for hands-on service and the other for advocacy.

Yet
another highlight was the 10,000 EUR Water Prize awarded to SI Alliance de
Tombouctou, Mali’s project “Construction de latrines à Koriomé”. The goal of
this project was to provide the community of Koriomé with basic sanitation
facilities in order to improve public health. After having constructed a water
well, the SI Club installed ten new latrines for the community school and
households.

SI/E
President Eliane Lagasse presented the certificates to the winners, saying: “I am proud to see how hard all the Clubs and Unions have worked and the
great results they have achieved in line with the mission of Soroptimist”.

Following
are the winners of 2011 SI/E Best Practice Awards:

PFO 1:
Eliminate poverty and gender discrimination through ensuring women’s full
social and economic rights

KENYA – SI
MILIMANI – “Women’s Entrepreneurship”

In order to enhance
women’s capacity to acquire and promote entrepreneurial skills in the wake of
the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya, the SI Club Milimani provided funds
to rebuild women’s homes and businesses. As a result, 40 women over a two year
period (2008-2010) proved that they were competent of running sustainable
small-scale businesses, cater for their families’ living expenses, contribute
towards their daughters’ secondary education, and maintain the homes that the
Club had rebuilt.

 

PFO 2: End human trafficking and all forms of
violence against women and girls

AUSTRIAN UNION – “Violence Against and Among
Children”

The SI Clubs in
Austria partnered with an Austrian organization called “Kinderschutzbund” to
prevent domestic violence and create awareness on the rights of the Child. The
Austrian Union engaged in an awareness raising campaign to share vital
information with people in strategic positions, such as schools, youth centers,
medical institutions and of course with parents, particularly young single mothers.

 

PFO 3: Ensure access to health care for women
and girls

TURKEY – SI ANKARA, ANITTEPE, CANKAYA, EMEK, GAZIOSMANPASA – “Providing Home Health Care Services and
Training”

The Turkish Clubs, in
collaboration with the Gazi University, provided home
health services and health training to impoverished families.

 Health care providers were trained on the following
subjects: nutrition and healthy eating, family planning, prenatal and postnatal
health care, newborn and child care, and care for the elderly.

PFO 4: Support programmes and policies that
eliminate HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and other major diseases

DENMARK – SI SKJERN-TARM

“Kawempe Home Care Kampala, Uganda”

The Danish
Soroptimist Club of Skjern-Tarm collaborated with Kawempe Home Care to provide
easy access to health care for those infected with HIV/AIDS in the district of
Kampala in Uganda. The Kawempe Home
Care was established in July 2007, by a group of devoted health professionals
to help care and support families affected by HIV/AIDS

 

PFO 5: Improve access to clean water,
sanitation and essential food resources (HANDS-ON SERVICE)

SENEGAL – SI DAKAR – “Projet d’appui du quartier de Dalifort pour
l’approvisionnement en eau potable, la confection de fosses septiques étanches
et l’installation de pompes mi-forage”

The Soroptimist Club
of Dakar provided safe water and
adequate sanitation facilities to the community of Dalifort by installing
Diambar pumps, watertight septic tanks and faucets.

 

PFO 5: Improve access to clean water,
sanitation and essential food resources (ADVOCACY)

FRENCH UNION – “Création d’un sous-main éducatif sur l’eau”

The SI Clubs of France combined their
efforts in creating cartoon placemats and table sets to teach children about
the importance of water. The placemat illustrations, created by children’s
author Maitée Laboudige, feature Ondine and her companion Milo; two characters
that show children how water is a crucial need, how it is used for hygiene and
amusement

 

PFO 6: Mitigate the effects of climate change
and integrate sustainability into personal choices and government policies and
programmes

DANISH AND KENYAN UNIONS

“Women and Climate Change Denmark-Kenya”

The Unions of Denmark
and Kenya are working to
strengthen the ability of Kenyan women to handle climate change mitigation and
adaptation, through their involvement and women’s capacity building. The aim of
the project is to implement cleaner production processes and practices in the
textile, hotel and food processing industries which will lead to sustainable
results. 

You can find out more about this project by attending their workshop session at the SI Convention in Montreal!

PFO 7: Meet the needs of women and girls
during and after armed conflict and disasters

TURKEY – SI ANKARA – “Refugees”

Because there are no
refugee camps in Turkey, the SI Club of Ankara is helping refugee
families by collecting materials that would address their needs. Soroptimist Club of Ankara offered language and career courses to help families in this difficult situation.

PFO 8: Promote peaceful conflict resolution,
inter-cultural and inter-racial tolerance and condemn genocide and terrorism

NORWAY – SI BORGE – “Multi-cultural Meeting and Understanding”

 The SI Borge Club,
collaborating with the Local Voluntary Service Centre, organized multi-cultural
meetings and events that provide immigrant women with an insight into Norwegian
culture while giving SI Club members a better understanding of the immigrant
women’s lives.

PFO 9: Ensure equal access to education and
training for women and girls throughout their lifespan

DUTCH UNION – “Verborgen Schatten (Hidden Treasures)”

The Dutch Union, in
partnership with the University Assistance Fund (UAF), provided financial
assistance to refugee women to empower them through education. Due to their
status as refugees, many women are not eligible to be granted government
funding and they are in need of assistance to further their academic careers.

 

 PFO 10: Assure women’s advancement in
management, politics and decision-making

ITALIAN UNION – “Training for Women: Growing Up between Career
and Passion”

The Union
of Italy organized a training seminar for 92 graduate school girls on gender
issues, diversity and social inclusion. The seminar, in support of the biennium
theme of Italy for
2009-11: “Education, Training and Information for Women,” was jointly organized
by the Scuola die Direzione Aziendale Università Boconi Milano and the SI Union
of Italy.