SI Lautoka, Fiji, Crucial Education Need for Special School
In a Friendship link with SI Torrens South Australia and SI Adelaide Inc, South Australia together with Project Partnerships with Western Aluminium Ltd, City Star Newspaper, Tropic Signs Service and Rotomould Ltd, this project also received sponsorship from Western Aluminium Ltd.
SI Lautoka received a request for a water tank from the Lautoka Special School due to frequent water cuts in the area. The school has a school roll of about 100 and the age range of students is from 5-20 years. According to the teachers some of the younger students were not able to go to the washroom on time and needed to be cleaned up and this became a problem during water cuts. The education provided is from Primary school to vocational classes and some students also stay at the school hostel.

SI Lautoka did a disaster management water project which was completed in October last year and during the project, sister clubs within the federation were approached for funding for the water tanks. Because of international money transfers and club logistics, the funding from SI Torrens and Adelaide Inc was received after October so with their permission this funding was utilized for a 5,000litre water tank for Lautoka Special School.

The club had hoped that once the tank was in operation, the water cuts would no longer affect the running of classes at the school. This school is a fundamental institute for the special students as they not only receive normal school education but also receive vocational training to become self sufficient with skills like cooking, sewing, screen printing, vegetable gardening, etc.
Now completed, SI Lautoka is aware that water cuts do not have a negative effect on the school anymore through communication with school via phone, email and visits. The chief guest at the handover function was the senior Education Officer, so this strengthened the link with the Ministry of Education.

SI Bologna, Italy, Improvement of sewing room in St. Clelia school in Kitanga Uganda.
SI of Bologna wanted to help women and girls of Kitanga (Uganda) to learn a craft useful for their economic independence. Sewing allows them to prepare dresses for many people earning money.
The Club contributed to the building of a sewing room with electric power and two electric sewing machines. They received photos and also heard from missionaries and friends that the room was being used to make school uniforms for children.

 

SI of Plymouth and District, Nepal water and sanitation
project. The club became aware of a lack of clean water and toilets
in a village of 200 people in the Chitwan area of Nepal. After contacting  Nepal Water and Health Authority (NEWHA) the club
selected a suitable project and fundraised for the next 18 months to raise
£2000.

The hope was that the women and girls in this village would
not have to continue to go into the woods at night to defecate – that instead
they would have access to clean safe water, rather than contaminated water from
other sources, leading to healthier living and additional time for education,
rather than water gathering for their families.

Communication and follow up has worked well with photos and
reports received at regular intervals throughout the two years from NEWHA, and overall
the project has been a great success.

(This project story was wrtten prior to the recent earthquake in Nepal)

 

 

SI Fremantle, Australia, Think Tank. Project Partnerships University
of Notre Dame (UND) – Fremantle. As with many clubs, SI Fremantle was looking to attract more
members, especially younger members. Believing younger women would bring an approach
to service that would differ from traditional ways, the club were unsure of
exactly what would attract them to join our organisation, and what would keep
them involved.

At a recent information day at UND the club promoted the
idea of holding a ‘Think Tank’ for students & staff. They were keen for
younger women to join the club or the possibility of a sub-branch to operate on
the campus. The Student Services director was keen for students to be involved
in SI  and offered to accommodate the ‘Think
Tank’. The club recruited the student who won its Public Speaking Competition,
and another student who expressed keen interest in SI was to lead discussion to
find out what would attract and retain younger members.

The discussion was productive and enthusiastic. The young
women who led the discussion were very keen to see projects happening on campus
& were already thinking of awareness raising campaigns highlighting
violence against women  and girls and
education. Students, fresh from a Social Justice lecture, were heading back to
their lecturer to talk about including SI in a lecture on organisations
promoting human rights. A group of at least eight students were keen to form a
group to work together.

SI Barry & District, UK, The Malarchi Trust. 2014/15 was a transitional year for the Malarchi Trust with
challenging local issues which affected the Pooncholai orphanage in India. This
had been supported for a number of years by SI Barry & District. The need
was identified by the Club, in discussion with the Co-founders of the Malarchi
Trust, for money to help fund the change in direction from a children’s home to
outreach work where the children have been placed in local supervised foster
homes.

The Club made a donation to the Malarchi Trust to help
facilitate a smooth transition for the children. It was hoped that the Club’s
support, emotionally and financially, would assist in enabling the students of
Pooncholai in their transition to foster homes and continued safe care, allowing
them to further their education.

The donation was used to support children in Pooncholai
Outreach to give them a monthly amount in cash for food as well as regular
parcels of things suggested by the children themselves. Amongst these were a
hygiene parcel – soap, detergent, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair oil, shampoo etc
and a scholastic one given at the start of every term.

SI Barry & District is committed to supporting the work
of the Malarchi Trust in India and all members look forward to the regular
updates they receive. Previously the Club sponsored a female student Kaliammal
through her schooling, and nurses training. In the future the members would
like to repeat this sponsorship of an individual girl as it was particularly
rewarding to follow her progress. 

SI of SI Moreno Valley, Golden West, USA. The local police department asked SI Moreno Valley to help
them roll out a program that would provide comfort items, such as cuddly
blankets or plush toys, to the children displaced from their homes because of a
traumatic experience; including abuse, neglect, loss of parent or loss of home.

Through personal donations and club funds, the club made
enough hand-tied fleece blankets and donated ample plush toys so that each of
the 100 police vehicles would always be equipped with a supply on hand for
distribution, during the course of an incident. On each blanket, a personalized
label indicating that it was made by Soroptimist International of Moreno Valley was sewn.

Sharing the police department’s vision the hope was that
through this small token of kindness: the displaced children would be more
comforted and less afraid; and they would view their interaction with the
police as a positive experience in the midst of their tragedy.

 

 

SI Hamilton, UK, in a project partnership with Vision Aid Overseas (VAO). SI Hamilton were looking to Improve access to eye care in
developing countries by collecting used spectacles for VAO, which works for a
world in which everyone has access to eye care and spectacles. VAO is currently
working in 6 countries in Africa, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Sierra Leone and Zambia. VAO is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2015.

Used spectacles were collected from members, their
relatives, friends and also from Care Homes and given to Alison Guthrie,
Optometrist, who made many visits to Uganda as a volunteer with VAO. Morag
Rennie prepared a poster, copies of which were placed in Care Homes and other
premises to encourage people to donate used spectacles.

SI Hamilton hoped this would bring an Improvement in the
standard of eye care and provision of spectacles for people in developing
countries, and so improve their educational and employment opportunities. In 30
years VAO has helped approximately 1 million people. At present 670 million
people – 10% of the world’s population – are disadvantaged by poor vision and
lack of spectacles.

The club expects to continue to collect used spectacles for
VAO, as it is very simple to do and helps others who have less access to eye
care than we have in this country.

 

 

 

SI Ilkley, UK, Every Voice Counts. The Club’s outgoing club President, Dr Sue Butler took ‘Every Voice Counts’ as the theme for her year; the idea that everyone has importance and relevance as an individual, no-one is too unimportant to be listened to; and everyone has a right to be heard. SI Ilkley launched the project in April 2014 with the intention of it spanning two years.

Every Voice Counts asked members initially and then other women to write a story about an important
event or influence in their lives. If they felt unable to write it themselves
then stories could be given through a one to one interview. The club set up a
website to enable them to publish the stories and to be able to share them both
locally and internationally. Photos were collected to give visual aid to the
site. A workshop was held in partnership with Ilkley Literature Festival to
widen the scope and the age range of storytellers. The club hoped to see
enjoyment by participants, an increased sense of self-worth, and the understanding
that everyone has important factors in their lives that have influenced them; positive feelings generated by sharing of experience. One of the reasons for using a website as the mode of publishing was the ease with which it could be viewed from around the world. Google analytics has shown the Club that they have had website views from around the globe, within a very short time of going live, which was really quite exciting!

 

 

 

SI Barry and District, UK, Regional Project – Human
Trafficking. In a project partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government
Vale Secondary Schools and in conjunction with Wales South Region, the Club
aimed to raise awareness of the issue of Human Trafficking, in particular in
Wales amongst the local community. The need was identified as many people are
ignorant of the existence of this problem. By distributing a novel about Human
Trafficking to Vale schools, the Club aimed to educate young people. By
distributing stickers with a crime stoppers number to report human trafficking,
the Club wanted to enable the public to respond to this issue.

The Club purchased copies of ‘Trampled Shoots’ by Pam Cairns
and donated a copy to the library of each secondary school in the Vale of
Glamorgan. 100 stickers were also purchased to support the Anti-slavery
campaign – ‘Show your support’. These were displayed around Barry and District
to raise awareness and show relevant phone numbers. By publicising human
trafficking it was hoped to provoke discussion about the issue and provide
concrete information as to how to respond.

 

SI Westland, New Zealand – Solar Ovens for Pacific. Through a friendship link with SI Samoa and in partnership with  Westland
High School, Local host families and Living Hope Pasifika NZ and inspired by the International President’s Appeal, SI
Westland raised money from the billeting of visiting American students studying
environmental sustainability, and used the proceeds to purchase and deliver
five solar ovens to Samoa (SI Samoa). In Samoa, women have to collect
firewood/fuel for cooking, taking energy and time. Firewood depletes the forest
and impacts on the environment and traditional stoves are not fuel efficient. With
less time needed to collect firewood for fuel and less cooking time with the
more efficient ovens it is hoped there would be more time to devote to education
and other work to improve the lives of women and girls in Samoa.

A follow up report from SI Samoa, who delivered and set up
the ovens at the recipients homes shows that the ovens are now in use.

 

 

SI Bogense-Nordfyn, The SI Denmark Project 2015-2016: ‘Giv
en Pige Ret’. Through fundraising at club meetings, and also fundraising
at different activities during 2014, SI Bogense-Nordfyn gathered donations with
the express purpose of buying identity cards for 500 women and girls in Mali
and supporting The Denmark Project 2015-2016 ‘Giv en Pige Ret’. An Identity
card enables a girl/woman to go to school; gives a woman the right to vote and also
the right of inheritance.

President SI Denmark, Anne Marie Boile Nielsen, participated
in a reception at the Town Hall in Bogense, when SI Bogense-Nordfyn celebrated
the clubs 25th anniversary and jubilee on March 21 2015, receiving the donation
in order to carry out the further work.

 

 

SI Dunfermline, Fife Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre sought to address a lack of dignity for
women and girls during police investigations, medical examination and interviews, when clothes are removed for processing, leaving women to be dressed in a white
paper all in one suit. If the home was the location of alleged rape – access to
house and clothing is often denied during police processing of site.

SI Dunfermline gave money to allow for a range of suitable basic clothing and toiletries to be
available in the Rape Suite. This action meant that  women
regained some level of dignity and self worth being able to have access to ‘normal’
clothes and basic toiletries.

 

SI Castlebar, Republic of Ireland, Celebrating International
Womens Day with a Coffee Morning in aid of Mayo Rape Crisis Centre, Castlebar

The Mayo Rape Crisis Centre provides a free and confidential
service to any woman 16 years and over who are survivors of Child Sexual Abuse,
Incest, Rape or Sexual Assault, whether they have been recently or in the past.
The current building is in dire need of repair.

The club collaborated with the Mayo Rape Crisis centre in a
fundraising coffee morning to raise much needed funds for upgrading the centre.
Members invited friends and sent invites through the media and social media to
the event.

It is hoped that by raising funds for the centre, this would
enable and empower women by improving the quality of the environment in which
this vital service is being provided.

A spokesperson for Mayo Rape Crisis centre said: "We would
like to offer our deepest gratitude to the Soroptomists International Castlebar
for joining with us on Sunday March 8th in Lough Lannagh to celebrate
International Women’s Day, and for raising much needed funds for our building
project. Thank you to every one of you for making it such a lovely morning. The
support of an organisation like The Soroptomists is such a gift to us doing the
work of The Rape Crisis Centre."

 

SI Craiova, Romania, Join us, be with us! Welcoming new
members to the club, increasing the number of members in the Club. The projects
undertaken throughout the year helped our organisation gain visibility and
women with whom we came into contact showed a desire to become members of
the Club. Two of these women have now become friends of the Club and one is a full
member.

 

 

 

 

SI Victoria Westshore, Canada, Anney’s Closet. The club worked in partnership with social service agencies
in the South Vancouver Island area, including women’s shelters, pregnant and
parenting programs, school districts, aboriginal peoples’ organizations,
sheltering organizations, public health nurses, and the government agencies
dealing with youth. Sponsorship was provided by West Shore U Lock Mini Storage,
Foster’s Moving & Storage and another new moving partner who provided the
majority of pick-ups and deliveries for the clients

Girls aging out of foster care and women/girls being settled
into their first home, are in need of items to make the bare space a home,
generally they have very little access to funds. SI Victoria Westshore provide a free
shopping experience for them, which provides what they need to live in some
comfort. Often it might be just a bed or bedding, and a few cookwares. Sometimes
it is everything from mugs and potato peelers to a table and chairs. They
select the items, giving them some control over their environment.

The club connects with the public to donate gently used
items, and with the social service agencies to let them know SI Victoria
Westshore is a resource for them.

Outreach workers return with additional clients, often
telling the club about the nice little homes their clients have been able to
set up. Members hear how heartened the clients are to have respectful
treatment and to have been given this gift of a home fitted with nice items. The community has embraced the project and more members are
drawn to the club to be involved in the project