Soroptimist International of Odder, Denmark, is showing its support for the SI President’s Appeal ‘Women, Water & Leadership with a donation of € 6,900 (around £ 5,900). Will your SI club follow suit and help WWL reach its goal of £350,000 for the projects in Kenia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, and Indonesia?
SI Odder was chartered only eight years ago and has 23 very active members, full of energy and with great engagement. In 2017 they were the host Club organising the Annual Congress of Soroptimist International of Denmark, where they heard SI President, Mariet Verhoef-Cohen speak about ‘Women, Water & Leadership’ (WWL), the SI President’s Appeal 2017-2019. The Club were so enthused by Mariet’s plans to involve women in water-related issues and water management, that they decided to donate the surplus monies raised from the event of € 6,900, to WWL.
Photo: Women farmers tending their crop in the WWL Mwihoko Women Group project
The donation will pay for nine women farmers in Kenya to receive relevant education, and the purchase of a water tank and supplies for planting crops. The Club plans to travel to Kenya in 2020, to visit the Mwihoko Women Group project and see it in action. The Mwihoko farmers have expressed great gratitude at SI Odder’s generous donation.
Working within its local community, the Club supports migrant children, making sure they can participate in extracurricular activities such as sports and arts; also helping women learn Danish, assisting them with their homework. Previously, the Club has supported a center for women who have been in violent relationships and Internationally, the Club supported the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Mabinti, Tanzania, where women were taught sewing skills to be able to take care of themselves. Believing that the work they do will “spread like rings in the water”, the Club’s motto is ‘When a woman receives an education, she becomes a role model for other women’.
SI Odder makes a point of inviting women to their monthly gatherings to talk about their remarkable work in specific fields, and their fundraising activities have included live-streamed scientific lectures at the University of Aarhus, on topics such as astronomy and how the brain functions and many other subjects, and the live-streamed lectures were such a success that they raised over € 2,000.
The feature image shows the members of SI club Odder.
Of the total funds needed for the SI President’s Appeal ‘Women, Water & Leadership’, 75% has been raised by SI members and clubs all around the world. Please help raise the last £ 70,000! Can your Club organise a fundraising event for WWL?