Friendship Link Newsletter Issue 48, May 2015

Transcription

FRIENDSHIP LINK NEWSLETTER | ISSUE 48, MAY 2015
Friendship Link Newsletter
Issue 48, May 2015
Dear Friends in Soroptimism,
In all the 29 countries of SIGBI Federation you
are either in the thick of summer or enjoying
the burst of spring. I am in Boston, which is
having a winter hangover – mind you the winter
was extremely severe this year and it’s almost
as if spring flowers are afraid to sprout.
Talking of sprouting a brand new club has
sprouted – SI Chester and you will read ahead of
this new bud so beautifully nurtured by Anne
Macdonald. They began with a bang of
friendship.
I was at CSW59 where Soroptimists have a standing. I made- as I am
sure did others- friendships of a kind with sisters from Philippines,
Mongolia, Taiwan, and many others. A United Nations of friendship !
Now the inevitable R word. The Register Form. Long story made very
short– 2 notices in the Club mailings - only 63 forms received. Then I
gather courage think of President Jenny Vince’s “Deliver the
Difference”- send out gentle reminders- to 176 clubs and the forms
come in slowly but surely and I have 140 forms. A small difference
delivered! Thank you clubs for responding to my call, and for the
appreciative notes sent to me. Enjoy your summer and keep up the
links.
Cheers
Nisha Ghosh
Friendship Link Coordinator.
This year will see the return of the
Soroptimist International Convention to
Istanbul, Turkey.
The SI Convention is much more than a
conference. It is a place where women
from all over the world come together to
give, to share, to learn from each other,
to be together in friendship. This year’s SI
Convention will be an even more
remarkable event!
At this 20th Soroptimist International Convention we will
reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and imagine our
future. We will come together to share and develop Fresh
ideas for empowering women.
The Convention will celebrate the many exemplary
accomplishments of Soroptimists across all continents in
improving the lives of millions of women and girls over the
past 80 years.
It will also be the meeting ground of Friendship Links of
clubs across the world. SI Chatline Friends will meet as will
those who are part of Open Heart Open Door.
A New Club Chartered
Founder Members of the brand new Club SI Chester
pose with President Victoria and Regional Federation
Counciller Anne.
SI Bristol the oldest Club in the
Federation extended their
hand of friendship to the
newest Club and a Friendship
Link was formed.
SI Bristol sign the Friendship
Link certificate(above) as do SI
Chester (right)
Visits and Visitors
SI Crosby
Has had a very active
Friendship Link full year.
Here’s what they have
reported.
Their link with SI Bonaberi –Douala was going off sporadically, but
received a boost last summer when Laura Redhead-from SI Widnes
visited the Cameroon carrying greetings from SI Crosby . In return they
received gifts and a new lease of life for their friendship Link. (Pic
above)
A wonderful opportunity to strengthen links this year
In August, ten SI Crosby members went to visit SI Kalundborg in
Denmark, with their friendship clubs from SI Falkenberg in Sweden
and SI Sigdal in Norway (Pics below)
The Danish hosts treated them to wonderful home cooked food.
Visits to the unique cathedral and the Old Town, a lighthouse and the
largest vineyard in Denmark made the trip memorable.
New links since Jan 2015
SI Harrogate- SI Pretoria-March 2015
SI Bristol-SI Chester-March 2015
SI Kirkintilloch-SI Bethune-March 2015
SI Dundee-SI Pune Metro East-March 2015
SI Ballarat-SI Greenock and District-March 2015
SI Masaka-SI Merate-March 2015
SI Coventry-SI Madurai-March 2015
SI Tunbridge Wells-SI Kirkcaldy-April 2015
SI Enna-SI Malta-April 2015
Snippets
*Shirley Suter – is the Friendship Link Officer of SI Harare.
Last year she had problems uploading the filled Register
Form. This year she’s recovering from an accident, her
computer is giving way and she has lost all the data.
Yet, she was on the email with me trying her best to send me
a complete Register Form. With a bit of handholding the job
was done. I loved her tenacity. Shirley is 80 years old. Well
done young Lady!! Here she is in the orange shirt -with her
Club members.
*SI Bedford has a link in every Federation and enjoys the
diversity of the links.
A VISIT TO
CELEBRATE
Five members of SI Coventry went for the 20th Anniversary
celebrations of their link SI St Etienne in France . St Etienne is
twinned with Coventry due to its similar industrial history
including weaving and silk and ribbon manufacturing.
Home stays was arranged, the visitors were met at the
station and then French hospitality took over typical French
delicacies and the obligatory champagne. A visit to the places
of interest in the Loire Valley a walking tour made the second
day eventful. The celebratory dinner at ‘Le Relais de l’Etrier’,
was grand with formal speeches. President June of SI
Coventry presented a cheque for the club’s local charity.
Entertainment by the Viennese Masquerade Puppeteers,
culminating with champagne and a festive gateau paraded
into the room with candles alight!
A VISIT To CELEBRATE
S. I. Grange-over-Sands welcomed visitors from three of their
five friendship link clubs to their Diamond Charter Anniversary.
Two members of the SI Gőztepe, Izmir, eight from SI Viareggio,
Italy and one from SI Winchester shared a reception in twelfth
century Cartmel Priory, a steam gondola trip on Lake Coniston
and a coastal walk
The President of S.I Grange-over-Sands Janice Carrick unveiled a
stone obelisk engraved with the town crest and presented it to
the town to mark the diamond anniversary.
SI Tenby and District celebrated their Diamond Anniversary Dinner in
the company of their Friendship Links from SI Charleroi Soleilmont Belgium, (Pic above), SI Cheltenham and SI Lewes (Pics below).It was
an evening of bonding.
EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND ENABLE
TOGETHER
An exciting Friendship Link was made between SI Colchester and, El
Doret Kenya when President chose Jasho Primary School, as her
charity. The school is located in Jasho Farm, an impoverished rural
area where families, mostly tribal, were located to work for a wood
processing company . This closed, leaving families impoverished.
Further civil violence led to disturbances. The local club came
across this school in three mud huts. SI Colchester supplied panties
and socks for the girls, and a water tank. They aim to complete the
building of the girls’ toilet, provide textbooks and funds to purchase
the wood for parents to build desks, a staffroom and a library.
TOGETHER
A partnership water project
between SI Canterbury and
SI Bulawayo has once again
proved the well known
transformative power of
water in 2005. Funds were
raised to support water
scare region.
The partnership further
strengthened by a
Friendship Link in 2008. SI
Bulawayo was working for
a Lumene pre-school school
where there was acute
shortage of water. By
liaising with the village
authorities a borewell site
was identified, and bore
completed in 2008. The
community reported life
changing benefits to their
health through improved
sanitation and food from
the vegetable gardens,
school girls had more time
to study as they no longer
needed much time to fetch
water, the community could
water their livestock which
provide labour to plough
their fields. This in turn
ensures sustainable food
production.
Continued…..
SI Bulawayo identified two nutrition gardens in Gwanda, where
boreholes had broken down threatening the sustainable
development in the areas. The collaborative work between two SI
clubs facilitated rehabilitation of these boreholes .
The two nutrition gardens are known as the Sibambene (We work
Together) and Zenzele (Doing for Ourselves) nutrition garden
projects. These collaborative water projects have fulfilled
Soroptimist International’s 3Es of educating, empowering and
enabling to the Lumene and Gwanda communities .
TOGETHER
SI Tenby’s Friendship Link Secretary, Iris Davies, in collaboration with
SI Lewes, has overseen the embroidery of over 50 name tags to
protest at the continued murder of hundreds of women in Mexico.
Iris and her fellow SI Tenby seamstresses embroidered the names of
each Mexican woman known to have disappeared and those that
were unidentified “Unknown”. The completed tags were sent to SI
Lewes to contribute to their Programme Action project in support of
Desconocida Unknown Ukjent.
SI Tenby has been campaigning against Modern-day Slavery, Human
Trafficking and FGM and very proud to make a small contribution to
SI Lewes’ inspirational project.
EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND
ENABLE
TOGETHER
Once again SI St Albans invited
their Friendship Link SI Warsaw
to “Join Women on the Bridge” .
They did, and were on the
bridge at the same time as SI
Albans was in England.
International Women’s Day
marked jointly.
SI Winchester
and District are
reviewed the
friendship links
and converting
them into
‘Action Links’Great idea- !
That’s what
working
together is all
about.
EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND ENABLE TOGETHER
What can two sets of women in two different regions of the world do
together? A whole lot to change perceptions of gender. SI Tamworth
has a joint project with their friendship link with SI Karachi which is
doing just that. This long standing link started the project initially as a
project to help primary school aged girls, but has now developed into
working with boys to change their perceptions of girls. This is an
extremely important development. Talat Pasha is their chief link and
they meet with her at conferences, to give funds and discuss the
future of this literacy project. There is a work book available for each
pupil to work through and there is discussion about each topic within
the book. Members of SI Tamworth had sight of the book, and it was
unanimously approved by the members of SI Tamworth to support SI
Karachi in this important development.
How do you find a link ? How do you establish a new link?
Several clubs when answering the Register Form field say yesthey would like a new link- “where?” is the next question- some
where in Europe, in Africa, in a developing country. Really I can’t
help very much with this. Please be more specific, the country,
region and city if you can and I shall get you a link pronto.
I’ve written about this in different spaces but now putting it all
together.
1.Links are formed when a Soroptimist during her travels visits a
local club and the rapport can result in a link being established.
2.When a Club is written about- their project is awarded and
another club wants to link up with them because of their work.
3.When a Club in another Federation asks for a link with your
Club.
4.When you seek common project work and look through the
Programme Data base and find a common mission in your
Soroptimist work.
Use these guidelines to link up, support or work together for the
women and girl in your communities.
Also a piece of advice- don’t have numbers only – 22 links are
difficult to keep pace with. The number is the club’s individual
choice, but remember if a link has become dormant for long- call
it off and maybe seek something new.
This organization encourages clubs to work together, so links are
the natural partners for clubs located in different part of the
world. See that with each of your clubs you have a meaningful
objective- besides nurturing friendship.
Wanted Links!!!!
*SI Bombay Chembur- wants to add a new link .
Please write to Celina Joy [email protected])
*SI Clonmel want a link with Sierra Leone- Nairobi,
Bangladesh or Malta. –Write to me at
[email protected] and I will
connect you
*SI Birkenhead wants a link in India – write Sharrel
Wallace- [email protected]
*SI Cannock and District want a link within the UK
connect with - Lakwinder [email protected]
*SI Mayuge- would like to have more links . They are in
Uganda and have promising projects. Please connect
with Teddy Carol- [email protected]
Pics and news from clubs of their friendship link activity
required for the next issue- Please do send them in by
1st July 2015
Keep them coming
Send to [email protected]

Friendship Link Newsletter Issue 48, May 2015

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