SI London East: Kori Project

In a partnership with SI Thames Valley, UK, the club invited
Rose Mariba Simba, the founder and Director of the Kori Project visit us and
talk about the project.  Many goods and
knitted items have been made and donated during 2015 and 2016.  A very generous donation from one SI East
London member of £1000 will also provide a well for the project.

 

 

SI Pune Metro East: Girls in Bright Dresses

SI Pune Metro East, India, partnered with
the ‘Hope for Children Foundation’. The project involved stitching dresses for
girls and cloth shopping bags which would replace plastic bags, enabling opportunities
to a number of women who were then able to earn money, in addition to gaining
new skills. The aim of the project was three-fold. Empowering women with
training; improving the lives of girls by gifting them the dresses; and
attempting to change the mindset of people by urging them to use cloth shopping
bags instead of plastic ones. Four women were given training in dressmaking
over a period of one year, enabling opportunities for them to earn a living.
One of the girls has been given a permanent job with a monthly salary of
Rs.4000/- by the said member. One other girl was given a sewing machine when
she completed her training, enabling her to work independently. 86 dresses were
given to the children of a girls’ school

 

 

SI Dusit: Scholarships
for Rural Students in Thailand.

In Thailand, for rural children and
under-priviledged children, getting to school and having enough money to pay
for lunches is very hard. SI Dusit, In a friendship link with SI Bangkok, developed
a scholarship programme which has been running for 30 years. Aimed at helping children
in need, the programme has proved an effective way of ensuring education
reaches girls in Thailand.

The scholarship pays for transport, books, food, and
boarding for rural school girls. To raise funds for this scholarship the Club
hosted two major fundraisers in 2015, which would cover the cost for the
scholarship programme for two years. ‘Symphony in Black’ was a gala dinner held
at the Dusit Thani Hotel, which included music, an art auction, dinner, black
and white cocktails, with an amazing 1st raffle prize. Guests all dressed in
black and white, The second fundraiser was the infamous ‘Home and Garden Tour’.
The club was offered a home in Suphanburi for public viewing and the full-day event
included a guided tour around the exotic 100-acre garden; stalls run by locals
and Thai music.

Every year club members travel across the provinces of
Thailand and visit the girls. Each trip can take three days of travel and
mentoring.  Results are shown from the improvements in the girls’ and 
family situations. This is making huge inroads to rural education – allowing access to many who were previously left out.  Most
villages now provide schooling up to about 10 years. Distances between main
towns and villages may sometimes be short, but these tracks only allow about
10km/hour for traveling. Even 50 kms can take a very long time. Some students
who live 200 kms away, have to board and only go home to their families twice
during the year.

 

SI Wellington: A New Transport Van for House of Grace.

The ‘House of Grace’ New Zealand, is a
non-profit local organization that provides shelter and help for pregnant teens
and young women aged 18-23 to prepare for childbirth and provide guidance towards
successful parenting, developing practical life skills and planning for a
confident future. The van that is used to transport the girls/young women and
their new-born babies to/from hospital and doctor’s appointments, etc is old
and needs to be replaced. The House relies on donations and so their funds are
limited. Activities Raised $3,130 towards the purchase of a
replacement van.

Our contribution of funds, combined with other
contributions enabled the House of Grace to purchase the necessary replacement
van. Yes, if required we would raise funds again to support their financial
needs. No change needed to this successful project. 

"The House of Grace has opened so many doors
for me. I’ve gone back to school, learnt to cook and made a plan for my
life. Living at the House of Grace made me a stronger person. It
gave me confidence to believe I could be a great mother."

 

 

SI Albuquerque: Stop The Violence 5k. This event sought to
shine a light on the rise in domestic violence and sexual assault in the
community. With numbers increasing year-on-year, it was hoped the Annual Stop
the Violence 5K Run-Walk-Roll would help to spread awareness and hope in New
Mexico, creating positive change in the community. The two beneficiaries were
the Domestic Violence Resource Center and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE).
A great success, the club were able to discuss violence against women with many
people at the event and during the months that followed. They received positive
feedback from survivors who hoped the club would make ther 5k a tradition in the
community.

 

 

SI Rim of the World: Every Girl Counts.

In a project
partnership with Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School, Lake Arrowhead, California and sponsorship
from Rim of the World Recreational and Park District, Union Bank, and Lake
Arrowhead County Club.

The programme which has been going for several years now,
and is aimed at 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls at MPH Intermediate School. The
aim is to teach students about breast cancer awareness, nature awareness, personal
safety, community service, personal Finance, personal fitness and health.

The extensive programme offered many inspiring and
educational topics for the girls; including a talk from a survivor of breast
cancer, a self-defence demonstration and training, Yoga and relaxation techniques,
planning for a financially strong future, making soup for Meals on Wheels, and money
was raised for mammograms for low income women in the

At the end of the program, the girls completed an Evaluation
asking what they enjoyed and learned from the program. The club also received
positive feedback from teachers and school administration. The club plans to
continue programmes for the next school year.

 

 

SI Albany: Join Me On The Bridge

SI Albany members joined thousands of women around the globe
as they took part in the annual ‘Join Me On The Bridge’ campaign as part of
International Women’s Day on Tuesday, 8 March 2016.  Albany Soroptimists gathered on the Albany
Pedestrian Footbridge at 12 noon to mark the event which began in 2010 when
women from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo joined together on
the bridge connecting the two countries, that were on opposing sides of war. Showing
that they could build the bridges of peace and hope for the future, the action
sparked a massive global movement, and in 2011 and 2012 they were joined by
thousands of people on hundreds of bridges worldwide. In 2013, Bridge events
occurred on all seven continents and in 59 different countries around the
world.   

According to SI Albany president Deborah Symes,now is the
time for women around the world to unite in building bridges, joining on
bridges and celebrating what is possible on bridges. Stronger women are
building the bridges of peace for our future and our children’s future. 

 

SI Helena Inc. Western Australia: Women and Girls in Science

In an ongoing project, SI Helena organised a series of talks
covering science areas, and invited members from other clubs and guests, in
order to generate awareness of women in science and the Kings Park
environmental research facility.  The
first speaker, Dr Alison Ritchie, addressed ‘The hidden science of Kings Park
calling Kings Park the "Kew Gardens of Western Australia (WA)". Residents
and visitors to WA see Kings Park as a place to view the city, enjoy the flora
and mainly engage in leisure activities, however few would know of the
environmental research facility that exists within the park and the vital work
done by young (mostly women) scientists, to ensure WA’s future botanical
sustainability & diversity as one of the world’s environmental hotspots.

Attendees left the talk more educated about the importance
of Women in Science in current research. Many are now more aware of the
environmental research programme which exists in WA; finding out more about
WA’s unique biodiversity and the highly respected facility which works closely
with the scientists at Kew Gardens.