Read about some of the latest Soroptimist projects from around the world in this month’s round-up, from educating girls about cyber-bullying  in Trinidad and Tobago to breast cancer awareness in Japan. 

See photos and read more about the projects below. 

 

Stop Cyberbullying – SI
San Fernando (Trinidad and Tobago) organised a one-day workshop for girls at
two local schools to raise awareness about cyberbullying, educate
them as to how to protect themselves and empower them to take the leadership to
encourage others to protect themselves.

The workshop was facilitated by a clinical psychologist. She encouraged students
to take a leadership role to encourage zero tolerance towards cyberbullying
within the student body and among their peers. The workshop was followed by
student assemblies where the topic was discussed and a “Stop CyberBullying”
campaign was launched with the distribution of wristbands to all students.

International
Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women – SI Kodaikanal (India) surprised the local crowd at the local Sunday
market, performing six skits exploring violence against women and girls,
including domestic abuse, rape, feticide and dowry-related violence, raising
awareness and encouraging by-standers to explore issues.  

Economic empowerment
for women in Pakistan – SI Ede (Netherlands) is working with a partner
foundation “Stichting Thuisfront Zuster Lemmens”  to train women to earn a living through sewing
and selling clothes in Quetta, Pakistan. The support from SI Ede will fund the
rental of the property and allow the number of women trained to be increased
from 25 to 50 per year. The club will also pay for teachers to help the women improve
their skills and help them become self-supporting, as well as training new
women. The project also provides loans for sewing machines for those who cannot
buy them.

Breast cancer
awareness – October was Breast Cancer Awareness
Month. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the
steps that can detect the disease in its early stages, so it can be treated effectively. SI Yokosuka (Japan) organised
a lecture on breast cancer examination and the experience of suffering from the
disease to help raise awareness of screening for the disease. Ms Kuniko Yamada
who used to be a breast cancer patient and Ms Takuko Tsuchiya, the chief of
Kamakura Breast Cancer Center spoke at the event and the audience were given
pink ribbons.

On 25th
October, SI of South Kolkata and SI  Calcutta (India) organised an awareness event in association with Apollo
Gleneagles Hospitals Kolkata at the Rotary Club of South Calcutta Diagnostic
& Health Centre. Dr. Shila Mitra, Consultant Radiation Oncologist made a
presentation on ‘Screening of Breast Cancer’. Dr. Aramita Saha, Oncologist,
explained the need and the process of ‘self breast examination’. Both of them
answered the queries and ‘screened’ 20 participants for Breast Cancer.

Livelihood Projects – SI Malabon (Philippines)
has been running projects that help women and girls gain skills that can be
used to engage in home-based small businesses since 2009. Since then they have
improved the lives of countless women and girls and their families in Malabon.

Anti-Slavery Day
awareness-raising – SI Hamilton (UK) set up several information stands and
display boards in their local shopping centre to raise awareness of modern-day
slavery and human trafficking on UK Anti-Slavery Day (18 October). Their local
Member of the Scottish Parliament, Siobhan McMahon MSP, joined them.  The group were there all day and spoke to
many members of the public, gathering 300 signatures for the Purple Teardrop
campaign stand. 

Service Awards – SI
of the Conejo (USA) awarded 6 grants of US$2000 to six organisations whose
work supports the mission of the club. They include a pregnancy loss support programme,
Tanzania nursing scholarship programme and trafficking prevention project.

Rising Stars – SI Nykobing
Falster (Denmark) and SI Bangalore (India) – 2 Danish Soroptimists Lis
Ekmann and Sussie Hansen  participated in
this SI Bangalore project, while visiting the Indian club. The project supports
girls at the Jeevodaya Ashram. Lis and Sussie conducted various workshops for 9
girls, including jewellry making and painting with materials brought from
Denmark.

Ferdinand Food
Project – SI Koblenz (Germany) engaged a food consultant to provide
training to parents, children and kindergarten employees about healthy eating
in a disadvantaged quarter of Koblenz. The programme included an excursion to a
farm – most of the children had never seen a cow before, but now they
understand where their milk comes from and where the wheat that goes into their
bread comes from.

Gift of Kimonos to
Kesennuma – SI Tokyo Yayoi (Japan). Many people lost
everything in theTohoku Earthquake in 2011. SI Tokyo Yayoi worked with the Japanese
Traditional Clothing Association, to collect second-hand kimonos – traditional
Japanese garments usually now worn on special occasions – and pass them onto 750
people affected by the earthquake. “We think if they could have a piece of Kimono as the first step, some
of them would be encouraged to proceed again.”, explained the club
in their report.

One of the recipients wrote in thanks, saying:

“I could not pass over the
Oshima-tsumugi Kimono ensemble of white & black hexagonal pattern and red
big flower. I did not notice the reason why I chose it, but was surprised when
I remembered that it is the same as one which my sister, who died in the
Earthquake, reformed to a set of hat, jacket and skirt, and liked very much.

“I visited the grave in the morning
of the day when I met the Kimono. I will give it to my niece who lost her house
and three family members. I am sure that my sister would have done the same as
me. As my sister liked Kimono very much, she would have prepared various things
for that. I would like my niece to put on the Kimono at the entrance and
graduate ceremonies of her two children next spring.”

 

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 during November 2013 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.