President's Message
Be Bold, Think Big, Make a Difference!
It is a great honour to be the President of an organisation with members in 28 countries the majority from the UK but with members in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean . We are also part of a larger organisation with members in 125 countries. A mixture of nationalities, ages, races, cultures, professions and religions.
In a world where conflicts exist among groups with fewer differences we are an amazing collection of women, intensely involved in making the world a better place, while having fun and making friends, we are women with a common vision and aim of serving the global community through awareness, advocacy and action.
Many of our senior members, or as I like to say chronologically gifted members, are women who have broken the gender barriers faced the challenges, blazed a trail in their respective carriers, who by their actions set the example of women's capabilities.
From an early age I was exposed to an array of strong dynamic interesting women, no more so than my mother Ena Collymore-Woodstock, who was an inspiration and epitomised the maxim "you preach a better sermon with your life than your lips"
Involvement in Soroptimism came naturally because I grew up believing this is what you do – give something of yourself to others. I say this not as pride in myself but to show the power of example, of action, not just words.
These women were bold, they thought big, beyond the confines and constraints of what was expected of women in the 30's and 40's.
From your own experience who has made a difference in your life? Who has influenced your life in a positive way? I am positive your first thought was not the political leader of your country, or famous inventor, but your parent, your teacher, your friend, your neighbour.
And you, who are you making a difference to and how ? What is your gift to the world?
Certainly we can all make a difference in our immediate sphere of life. We can also make a difference locally, nationally and internationally.
There are still many challenges to be faced and we must be prepared to stand-up, speak up and take action. As Martin Luther King said "there comes a time when silence is betrayal" and "in the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends."
Soroptimist International has a global voice. We are represented worldwide with General consultative status at the UN with the Economic and Social Council and operational relations with UNESCO, WHO, FAO,accreditation to the Commonwealth, and representatives in Vienna, Rome, Paris and New York.
We have just completed Project Independence – Women Survivors of War where we worked in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda through education, job training, micro credit loans to assist women, civilian casualties of war. Women and children make up 75% of the civilian causalities of war and are often targeted for violence.
In Afghanistan 79% of women were illiterate, in rural areas only one in every 100 girls is enrolled in school.
In Bosnia – rape, forced impregnation was used as weapons of war, unemployment rate for women 40%.
In Rwanda – 500,000 women and girls as young as five systematically tortured, abused, raped during the genocide, today women make up 70% of the population.
Soroptimists worldwide raised funds to support in a tangible way women in these countries supporting these women through monetary and non monetary contributions.
Previously we have been involved in projects such as:
Limbs for life – providing prostheses for victims of landmines in Angola Georgia and Afghanistan.
SIAM – developing income generating projects in villages in northern Thailand and promoted AIDS education to dissuade young women from entering in commercial sex industry.
SI/SIGHT SAVERS –establishing a network of clinics in Bangladesh to prevent blindness in children under the age of 5 years
In July 2007 we commenced our new project PROJECT SIERRA, a family and a future, which aims to transform the lives of children orphaned by war in Sierra Leone.
Locally members are involved in projects that address the needs of their particular community, ranging from day care facilities for children, housing ,care for seniors, water installation, drug rehabilitation, teen pregnacies, teen violence, hiv/aids awareness, homeless persons, gun violence, cancer support services, advocacy for legislation, just to name a few.
Can you get involved? Can you afford not to get involved? We must accept politicians can't do it all. There are issues beyond politics. Everything happening around us will affect our most important relationships, our children, partners, family, jobs. Part of our commitment to these relationships should be to make the world a better place.
Sounds like a tall order! Don't be overwhelmed by the things to be done - as busy women we cannot do it all - but we have choices, whether to get involved internationally or locally, in awareness,in advocacy or in action .
I would hope you find joy in being involved, making a difference, influencing someone's life, your own child's. I attended a function recently where an elderly lady was awarded for her service to the community , in a very casual unprepared way she said simply, ‘being integrated in other peoples lives gives me a great sense of balance and harmony in my own life''.
I was also reading recently the words of one of those early bold and dynamic women who shaped my life, Winnie Hewitt "the purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all".
I urge you to start today. Together we are strong, get in touch, join a club, form a club!
Wherever you can, however you can, in whatever way, make a difference - doing nothing is not an option.