Check out a snapshot of what Soroptimists are doing to support women and girls around the world in this round up of club projects reported in the last month! From job skills for girls in the USA to visiting the elderly in Israel and Australia, educating women about their health in Benin, economic empowerment through gardening in Mongolia, it gives an idea of the huge range of projects carried out by Soroptimist International clubs around the world. 

See photos here or view the slideshow on Flickr, and see more information below.

 

Greenhouse gardening
project boosts income and self-esteem for 15 poor and unemployed rural women Soroptimist
International Darkhan (Mongolia)

15 poor and unemployed rural women were taught
greenhouse technology and how to grow vegetables and flowers from early spring; this enabled them to supply their own needs and have produce to sell at the
local market. They were also taught the correct way to harvest produce and
preserve some of the vegetables for later use and sale, and how to budget for
their project. PFR 34364

Morning Tea at
Cypress Gardens – Visiting residents of care home with dementia – Soroptimist International
Helena Inc (Australia)

The elderly residents at Cypress Gardens can no longer live
in their own homes as they require too much care. Their personal contacts are
often reduced to occasional family visits and staff interaction. SI Helena inc
club members joined with residents for morning tea to chat or play board and card
games. “The engagement with residents and our members created mental
stimulation for both groups. Listening to their stories from years past is
inciteful to us all. Oral history is highly stimulating for both the teller and
the audience.”, report the Club.

Supplying equipment for
a new park in an area still recovering from the East Japan Earthquake– Soroptimist
International Nagoya (Japan)

Many families in areas affected by the devastating
earthquake that hit eastern Japan in March 2011 still live in temporary homes.
Severed from their original communities, they tend to stay inside. SI Nagoya
hoped that a play park will encourage women and girls to go out, talk, laugh, relax
and strengthen ties with each other. The Club raised funds to place a large
swing and gym horizontal bar in the park.

Operation Women
Warriors: providing care packages for female soldiers serving abroad – Soroptimist
International of the Kachinas (USA)

SI Kachinas collected items that female soldiers want and need,
rarely included in care packages typically sent for male soldiers. This
includes name brand feminine hygiene products, full sized lotions and
conditioners, magazines, nail files, shower gels, and hard candies. A local
radio station donated 130 boxes of girl scout cookies and hundreds of recent
magazines.

Providing blankets,
diapers and other baby supplies for teen mothers through Teen Outreach Pregnancy
Service (TOPS) – Soroptimist International of the Kachinas (USA) Helping
teenage mothers provides support to ensure they continue with their education
making them more capable of long-term success as a parent and contributing
member of society. Staff from TOPS reported the moms felt like they were being
cared for and it was part of building self esteem for these young women.

“Walk a mile in her
shoes” – raising awareness of violence against women and girls – Soroptimist
International of Kent County (USA)

Soroptimists, their family members and 2 dogs (with t-shirts
on!) joined Washington College students in a mile walk along main streets of
Chestertown to raise awareness of rape, abuse and other gender-based violence,
as well as raising funds for the local rape crisis service. Men wore red high
heels and t-shirts were sponsored by the SI Kent County.

Donating desperately
needed school supplies to an underfunded public elementary school located in a
rural farming area of California – Soroptimist International Palm Desert (USA)

SI Palm Desert learned of the dire straits the teachers were
in not having adequate supplies to aid them in their classrooms. The school’s
district is in financial trouble and was not able to provide the necessary
supplies, while most residents of this community are at the Federal poverty
line and are unable to provide adequate supplies to their children. Club members
donated $900 and the school supplies were purchased and loaded into a member’s
truck for delivery to the school library.

Women Inspiring and
Nurturing Girls to Success: Workshops on workplace communications, self esteem
and social skills – Soroptimist International of San Bernardino (USA)

Through the WINGS, SI San Bernadino ran workshops for high
school girls and recently incarcerated women to boost job-related skills and
increase self-esteem. Girls leave with better self-image and are better prepared for a future career.

Refurbished visitation rooms for children in foster care to
meet with their parents – Soroptimist International of Gold Canyon (USA)

Arizona State Child Protective Services had 2 Visitation
Rooms for foster children to visit their parents, but the rooms were empty. A
few broken and dirty toys were strewn across the floor. SI of Gold Canyon furnished
the rooms with donated and purchased items: comfy couches, rocking chairs, wall
units and large ottomans for toy and book storage, plus fun wall graphics and
artwork. Donated toys were sorted, sanitized and stored. Child Protective
Services reported back that both rooms are being used on a regular basis. The
children did not have the usual scared, wary look on their faces. Instead, they
were smiling and excited when they walked in the rooms.

Week long awareness
programme teaching women to self-examine to detect early breast cancer and give
blood samples to detect HIV-AIDS – Soroptimist International Club Cotonou Doyen
(Benin)

SI Cotonou Doyen worked with 10 other women’s organisations with
the support of the Ministry of Health to carry out this week long programme.  In Benin, few women are informed about the
seriousness of Breast Cancer and high rate of HIV-AIDS. One 52 year old participant
reported "I have done HIV-AIDS tests many times but this is the first time I
am doing a self-examination to detect breast cancer thanks to this good
initiative of service clubs.”

Volunteering at local
day care centre for elderly people – Soroptimist International Pardes
Hanna-Karkur (Israel)

For the past several years, SI Pardes Hanna-Karkur has
volunteered at the Regional Day care Center for the Aged based in Pardes Hanna-Karkur,
in many capacities.The people who go to this facility are old and infirm; they
go to get out of the house, eat a nourishing meal together, and engage in
crafts and activities. This eases their loneliness, and stretches their minds
and bodies. “The (mostly) women who go daily to the day care center are always
happy to see our volunteers and say they look forward to their visits”, report
the Club.

Relationships Education
workshops in secondary schools – Soroptimist International Kodaikanal  – India

After distributing a SIGBI federation relationships
questionnaire to local schools, the Club were asked to run workshops in three
schools to help children aged 9-12 develop healthy relationships and know how
to treat themselves and others. The workshop explores how they relate to
themselves, their family and their peers through performing skits and
discussion.  The club hopes to extend the
project to other age groups, using art at the primary level and debates at the
middle and college level.  PFR 33169

Raising awareness of
violence and abuse at women’s groups – Soroptimist International Kodaikanal
(India)

After some initial research with other NGOs, the Club
decided to approach women’s groups and self help groups in villages to raise
awareness on different kinds of abuse and what they should do about it. Club
members use skits to explore different abusive situations and how women can
deal with them; they have been invited to return to many of the groups and are planning
to train more women to perform the skits and raise awareness. PFR 33171

Supporting student volunteer
to teach health and social skills at Senegal summer school – Soroptimist International
Hamilton (UK)

The Club applied to the 3S Soroptimist International Scotland
South Region fund to support a student at Edinburgh University to work at a
summer school for street children in Dakar, Senegal, providing basic education,
health and social skills. The student reported back to the Club on the experience,
via a presentation with photographs. PFR 33096

Soroptimist Conference
brings together experts on safeguarding girls and young women against sexual
exploitation –SI Yorkshire Anti-Slavery group

High profile cases of child sexual abuse reported in the UK
have highlighted the need for organisations working in child protection to work
together. Members of Soroptimist International Yorkshire’s Anti-Slavery Group
responded to by organising a conference to bring together experts in child
safeguarding in Leeds on March 28^th.

Delegates from statutory and
voluntary organisations came together to hear keynote speakers present their
perspectives on keeping children safe. 
Meg Munn, MP and Chair of the APPG Child Protection brought a political
overview to the problem; Shazia Bashir, Bradford Co-ordinator for Stop The
Traffik spoke about STT’s invaluable work in child protection; Amanda Warrant
from Barnado’s spoke about her organisation’s much respected work with
vulnerable and abused children; and Tracy Almond from the Lucy Faithfull
Organisation shared with us her organisation’s unique approach to safeguarding
children.

In 3 interactive workshops. Anne
Jones, ambassador for Child Exploitation Online Protection (CEOP) spoke about
raising awareness about the risks associated with using the internet; Shazia
Bashir, in her role as Assistant Principal at Oasis Academy, Bradford, talked about her work enabling parents and communities to build a safe
future for children and young people; and Susannah Wright and Tracey Weaver
from  Childline spoke about their work with
young children, raising awareness of inappropriate adult behaviour.

For more information about how Soroptimist International clubs around the world make a difference to women and girls, visit our Global Impact Report 2012-13 website.