Today on
International Day of the Girl, our SoroptiVoice blog comes from 17 year-old
Teresa and her godmother,  Anna Elisabeth
Mueller, a Soroptimist from Lienz in Austria. Educating and empowering girls is not just about
helping them fulfil their academic potential; Soroptimists are also committed
to offering non-formal learning opportunities and helping to broaden girls’
horizons.  Teresa writes about visiting
Australia through Open Heart-Open Door,  a Soroptimist International of Europe programme run by Henny
Knap-Go from the Netherlands.  Over 400 club members from 51
countries offer accommodation or assistance
to visiting Soroptimists and there is an active youth exchange programme.

Hello
everyone, my
name is Teresa and I participated in the Soroptimist program Open heart-Open
door.

Last summer
I was in Australia for 2 months and it was just lovely. I lived with different host
families and could see the real Australian way of life. I had the opportunity
to go to school in Townsville and meet lots of good friends. I also did some
trips to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. One of my
highlights was the Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns. Another
one was seeing the opera house in Sydney. I’m a ballet dancer so I really
enjoyed seeing a place where some of my role models are working.

I had many
good experiences and I learned for life. It was also the first time that I was
away from home for such a long time but I was never homesick. I got to know
many new and really friendly people. Sure I missed my family and my friends but
in the end of my trip I just wanted to stay in Australia.

If we had
the opportunity to host a teenager I would do so because it is really good to
go to different countries and have someone who can show you around.

I just want
to say thank you again for the Soroptimist club for sponsoring me and a really
big thank you to Janet Askern and Chris Knight, the two ladies who organised my
trip. It was really wonderful and I hope I can come back to Australia one day.

Anna
Elisabeth Mueller writes:

The Open Heart-Open Door programme, founded in 1995 by Heidi Konrad (SI
Spittal/Drau – Austria) gives Soroptimists the opportunity to travel all over
the world and get to know other cultures and Soroptimist friendship. For Teresa
it was a unique chance to realise her dream of getting to know a foreign
country better.

The idea to open your houses for other Soroptimists and their families
is wonderful. Over 400 Soroptimists in the entire world are involved. I hope
that more Soroptimists are going to open their hearts and their doors for this
project.

For more information about the Open Heart –
Open Door programme visit: http://www.soroptimisteurope.org/programs/open-heart-open-door.