Take a look at Soroptimist International Club projects and how they are contributing in the fight against illiteracy and engaging women and girls in education. 

The stats speak for themselves with approximately 775 million people, 64% of whom are women, functionally illiterate. What this means is they lack the basic reading and writing skills to manage a range of daily tasks most of us take for granted. Without educating women and girls, it is almost impossible for them to take up the opportunities that are out there to be had. It’s harder to start a business, understand medical care, sort financial problems, and educate themselves on all manner of issues – including what human rights they have. The benefits of educating women and girls is transformative. In recognition of the wide-reaching effect of improved literacy, this year’s International Literacy Day theme is ‘Literacy and Sustainable Societies’.

 

Image courtesy of UN Women

"We must ensure that literacy is fully recognized as
one of the most powerful accelerators of sustainable development. The
future starts with the alphabet." Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General

 

Helping Impoverished
Children Access Education

SI San Jose Del
Monte, Philippines, was inspired by the idea of a ‘pushcart classroom’ and
working with SI Caloocan City made their own. Manila has many street children
who cannot attend school, and unfortunately seeing street children uneducated,
sick and malnourished is a common scene in the city. This pushcart classroom
provides street children of all ages with an opportunity to have a non-formal
education, giving them access to books and information they otherwise would not
have. SI San Jose Del Monte members are excited about bringing literacy to the
streets! The cart also takes with it food, vitamins and medicine, helping
the children get healthier as they enjoy escaping into stories in the books. SI
San Jose Del Monte plan to expand their programme, making more carts and asking
for donations from libraries so that they can help even more street children in
Manila.

 

Photo: SI San Jose Del Monte’s ‘pushcart classroom’

 

Photo: some of the street children in Manila that SI San Jose Del Monte’s pushcart classroom will help gain access to education  

SI Dunfermline, UK,
set about improving literacy and access to books in Rwenzori, Uganda by working
with ‘Better World Books’. Rather than donating books to the Rwenzori School,
SI Dunfermline wanted to enable the school to buy important and relevant text
books. By working with Better World Books, club members were able to gather
donations for Rwenzori School. The books that club members collect and then sold,
reused or recycled by Better World Books, who then return funds to SI
Dunfermline. These funds are then donated to Rwenzori School so they can help
educate their students in an effective way. This ongoing club project helps
contribute to better grades being achieved at Rwenzori School and helps raise
awareness of the importance of literacy in developing countries in SI Dunfermline’s
local community.

 

Photo: Children from Rwenzori Schoo, Uganda, with the text books the school purchased with SI Dunfermline’s support

SI Gandhara, Pakistan,
discovered a non-formal school operating  which was helping to provide
education to local children from the area. Although working hard to support
the children, the school lacked basic facilities, with no electricity and no
running water. In the summer months children could be found sitting in
make-shift shelter tents being used as classrooms. To help the children at the
school learn in a more comfortable environment, SI Gandhara equipped the school
with fans –  of use in temperatures that could often reach 45 degrees centigrade. During the initial visit to the school, members of SI Gandhara were
approached by a young girl who said she would prefer to learn a skill such as
tailoring, so one day she might own her own business and not have to work as a
maid. In response, SI Gandhara helped provide sewing machines for female students
to start developing their vocational skills, educating and enabling them so as they might be able to provide for
themselves in the future. SI Gandhara see this as the start of ongoing support, as there is more to do –  from developing school facilities to helping to encourage and build the
children’s self-esteem.

 

Photo: Women and Girls sit in their make-shift classroom in Gandhara, Pakistan

 

Public Speaking

SI Lautoka, Fiji,
organised a public speaking competition for local primary schools, with the
theme ‘Make It Happen!’ –  encouraging effective action for advancing and
recognising women. The competition gave young people an excellent platform to
express their thoughts on prevalent gender issues. Twenty-four schools registered
for the competition, and the participants captivated the 400-strong audience
with their stylistic presentation and well-researched speeches. The competition
was such a success, it was featured in a local newspaper, further spreading
awareness of the gender issues covered in the speeches.

 

Photo: a participant in SI Lautoka’s public speaking competition in action

SI Newry and Mourne,
Northern Ireland, also ran a public speaking competition, advertising their
event to local schools and encouraging  involvement.  The regional heat of the SI Region’s national public speaking competition, the event
was covered by the local media. All of the girls involved enjoyed the opportunity
to express themselves and develop their skills.

 

Photo: members of SI Newry & Mourne, Northern Ireland with some of their public speaking competition participants and winners

 

Supporting
Educational Opportunities Overseas

SI of Pheonix, USA,
appalled by the lack of access to educational opportunities in Haiti, partnered
with the ‘What If Foundation’ to provide financial scholarship for girls in
Haiti. With this financial support, SI of Pheonix hoped that recipients would
become empowered to improve and enrich their lives. Formal education rates in
Haiti are extremely low: only 10% of schools are free to access, meaning many children
are left without education if their families cannot afford the fees of private
schools. The consequence of this is that only a quarter of students can continue
into secondary school and Haiti’s literacy rate is as low as 53%. This all
contributes to continuing and vicious cycles of poverty, and SI of Pheonix’s
support to girls in Haiti will actively seek to help break that cycle.

Find out more about the students SI of Pheonix is supporting here.

 

Photo: SI of Pheonix is supporting Hiatian girls like Vanessa (above)

SI Anglesey, UK,
wanted to support two Cambodian women who had been translators during a club
visit to Cambodia in 2013. Although the young women had qualified for
University, the fees had meant they couldn’t afford to go. By planning a range
of fundraising event, SI Anglesey was able to create a fund enabling Razi and
Sam to attend university. Both girls are in email contact with the club, and
are making excellent progress! This has inspired SI Anglesey to explore the
possibility of supporting other young women.

Razi has shared this thank you message,  "Thank you to the Soroptomists of Anglesey for all of your
financial support and making it possible for me to study at the University this
year."

 

Photo: Razi (left) and Sam (right), are able to attend university because of SI Anglesey’s support

 

Keeping School Fun

SI Manhattan Beach,
USA’s ‘S’ club for young girls at the Mira Costa High School, was founded
over fifty years ago. The ‘S’ club works with girls, and involves women to act
as mentors. This youth club is an important one on the high school campus, undertaking projects and empowering school students to contribute to their
own community. One of the ‘S’ club’s projects supported a school in Kenya in
accessing clean water. Through their youth club, ‘S’ club members get to be truly
active global citizens, gaining a passion for social development that will stay with them for a lifetime.

 

Photo: members of the S Club at Mira Costa High School that SI Manhattan Beach founded over fifty years ago

SI Hanford, USA,
wanted to make back to school a special and exciting time for disadvantaged
children from their area. Working with Kings County School Districts’
elementary and middle schools, together with the Foster Children Programme, 220
vulnerable children were put forward as beneficiaries of a SI Handford’s shopping
spree. This treat gave the children a one-on-one experience where they could
spend time choosing their own school appropriate clothing. This is not
something the children would otherwise be able to do, as selected children were
those most in need of shoes, backpacks and other supplies. All this would not
have been possible without the support of local businesses. Whilst the children
were out enjoying their time, SI Hanford spent time with the parents, running a useful series of
sessions on health and nutrition, financing, child safety and more. By spending
time with disadvantaged children and their parents, SI Hanford helped build
confidence and self-worth, reinvigorating the children at the beginning of the
new school year.

Photo: a young girl on SI Hanford’s back-to-school spree with her volunteer chaperone