Good Practice Awards

Federation Good Practice Awards were introduced in 2003 to honour the excellent work done by clubs throughout our Federation. These are the most recent awards made to projects in the Federation.

Economic and Social Development

SI Chennai

Club members from SI Chennai working with partners Madras Seva Sadan help women with small businesses, by organizing a free monthly forum to market their products. The City Shandy Women's Market was inaugurated on 7th May 2006 with 68 stalls, there are now 80 stallholders regularly attending. A variety of products are sold, jute bags, jewellery, food and clothing to name but a few. An amusement corner has been arranged for the children who attend the Shandy, and refreshments are available. Leading English and Tamil newspapers have carried articles about SI Chennai and its activities. The women who have stalls are assured of at least one day per month when they have a venue and buyers for their products, and have made useful contacts for their businesses. This is a very successful project and a deserving winner of the award

• Women empowered
• Gender equality promoted
• Poverty relieved

Education

SI East Grinstead

The club organized a trip to a Field Centre near East Grinstead for 22 under five year olds, their mothers and carers. They took part in bug hunts, pond dipping and a game of pooh sticks at Pooh Bridge in Ashdown forest. This is a game devised by Winnie the Pooh in the books by A. A. Milne. They then had a picnic lunch in the field. The club raised funds to pay for the transport and small gifts.

The idea behind this project was to give young children the opportunity to visit an area of outstanding natural beauty. To educate them and to develop in them a sense of awe and wonder and respect for the natural environment. The club was inspired by the "Can Do campaign" to try and recruit younger members. They felt it was a good way to introduce young mothers to the organization. Invitations have been given to the young mothers to come to a club meeting. An afternoon tea has also been organized with the Forest Row Community Playgroup and Soroptimist leaflets were distributed at the tea.

A very successful project that deserved to win the award as it was SMART

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time related

Environment

SI Sunderland

Soroptimists have given women what no-one else did: a purpose built clinic, medical care for themselves and their families, and an opportunity to benefit from health education and literacy programmes. The infant mortality rate was 28%, due primarily to the many diarrhoeal diseases caused by the stagnant water system. (Villagers were using stagnant pond water for drinking). With funding from the British High Commission fifteen tube wells were installed to provide the first clean water to serve the needs of the whole village.Eighteen months ago however, the wells were condemned because they had become contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic. Carole Elliott worked in partnership with other clubs to fund the installation of a deep bore well. Sanitation is essential to give good health to the villagers. 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to proper sanitation and 2008 has been declared the UN year of Sanitation. Sunderland Soroptimists provided special tropical latrines (that operate without running water) for the villagers in Boroudha.

Health

SI Ipsae, Mauritius: Soroptimist Day Care Centre for the Elderly

SI Ipsae built and now operate a Daycare centre for the elderly. They leased some land, persuaded a local architect to design the building without fees and then, with help from their Friendship Link SI High Wycombe the building was completed. It now caters for 30 people and is growing all the time.

Human Rights and the Status of Women

SI Tenby

Members of SI Tenby in South Wales have been raising awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK. They have been writing letters - 3000 in total over the last three years. They have sent their letters to a wide range of people including Members of the UK Parliament, Welsh Members of the European Parliament, members of the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and the Irish Dail. They have also written to women's and men's organizations, chief constables and heads of twelve faiths in the UK. Their work was acknowledged in the booklet produced for our Soroptimist delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women in 2007. Adopting Immediate Past President Hilary-Kay's theme, the members of this Club have not been whispering. They have been shouting out for those who cannot shout out for themselves and are winners of the 2007 Federation Programme Action Award for Human Rights and the Status of Women.