With a global day of action, Enough is Enough: End Violence Against Women, on International Women’s Day  and the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, March was a busy month for many Soroptimists around the world.  Take a look at some of the photos of clubs in action in India, Kenya, Fiji, Lithuania, Australia, Canada, UK, and USA in the slideshow above (or click here to see them on Flickr) and read more below.

SI Pune Metro East (India) are working with local NGO Ek Titli to make children particularly girls aware about organic farming by running a programme at the village middle school. Due to bad agricultural practices and drought conditions, many farmers are selling their lands moving away with their families. The project, which will go on for at least four months, aims to change attitudes among future generations about how to revive the land and farm sustainably.

In Kenya, SI Mumias knew that girls were missing up to three days per month of school at the time of their periods because of a lack of sanitary towels; this reflected on their class performance and self-esteem. Going into a local school, they spoke to girls about their physical development, menstrual cycle and personal hygiene, distributed sanitary towels donated by corporate sponsor International Partnership Systems, and discussed alternatives to sanitary towels where these are not available.  Teachers reported on follow-up visits that this has had a beneficial impact on the girls school attendance and self-confidence. The project was supported by SI Union of Denmark.

SI Raseiniai (Lithuania) organised two craft training sessions for women of the Vidukle community, with the aim of increasing self-esteem, enabling self-expression and offering a new educational opportunity. One participant reported: "It was an unforgettable experience, I’ll remember not only our creative works but also this kind and warm communication with other women”.

SI Lautoka (Fiji) organised an International Women’s Day celebration and poster competition for around 800 students of Jasper Williams High School, to raise  awareness of gender issues and violence against women.

SI Kings Lynn (UK) ran an information stand at a local supermarket on International Women’s Day to raise awareness of the need for basic maternal healthcare  in the Gambia and fundraise for Maternal Health Advocacy International.  

As one way to try to end violence against women, SI Bangalore (India) have started a Gender Sensitization project with children of two schools. Gender sensitizing is about changing behavior and instilling empathy into the views that we hold about our own and the other sex. Gender sensitivity is acknowledging that women are subordinated in most societies and that this subordination is harmful not only for women & girls, but also for men and boys and the entire society. It means being aware of why men and women behave differently and understanding their specific needs and concerns. It also means understanding the implications and impact of different policies and programmes on women and men.

In another project, as part of Climate Week – 4-10 March – SI Bangalore raised awareness of climate change and its effects through a drawing competition for the children of Gopal Ramnarayan Government school on the topic “My Dream City”.  28 girls and 11 boys took part, most were not aware of the issue of climate change so 3 club members, who already run regular English conversation classes for the children, discussed global warming, air pollution, deforestation and climate change, helping to develop understanding among our future citizens and ambassadors of change.

SI Rim of the World (USA) sponsor monthly meetings for girls attending a local middle school dealing with body image, bullying, Internet Safety, etiquette, healthy eating and physical activities. The project aims to increase girl’s social skills and self-awareness by demonstrating that they are valuable to their school and community. 

SI Stoney Creek-Niagra (Canada) supplied money, clothing, household items, toiletries, transportation and safe housing for victims of sexual trafficking supported by Walk with Me Victim Services, and spent a day preparing freezer meals for the trafficking survivors.

SI Guernsey (UK) made up Mothering Sunday gift baskets with toiletries and chocolate for women affected by domestic abuse supported by Guernsey Women’s Refuge and Maison St Pierre on 10 March 2013.

ACTION, ADVOCACY AND AWARENESS RAISING

There are around 3000 Soroptimist clubs around the world, all working to educate, empower or enable opportunities for women in their local communities and beyond through action, advocacy and awareness-raising.  Working across the world in over 120 countries, clubs undertake a huge range of projects depending on local need. However, all serve the following objectives:

• to increase access to formal and non-formal learning opportunities.
• to improve access to economic empowerment and sustainable opportunities for the employment of women.
• to eliminate violence against women and girls and ensure women’s participation in conflict resolution.
• to ensure women and girls have food security and access to the highest attainable standard of health care.
• to address the specific needs of women and girls by improving environmental sustainability, and mitigating effects of climate change and disasters.  

These actions were all reported by clubs on the Project Focus Report database, which enables SI to track club activities across the globe and monitor the collective impact of Soroptimists worldwide.