Soroptimist International GBI

Programme Action Awards

Federation (SIGBI) Programme Action Awards were introduced in 2003 to honour the excellent work done by Clubs throughout our Federation. These are the most recent awards (2008) made to projects in the Federation.

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

SI Chittagong Bangladesh for their project ‘Micro credit & Vocational Training’

The club employs a lady trainer to give sewing lessons to a group of 40 poor women three times a week at the Sewing Centre. Training is also given in Poultry Farming. Women are given small interest free loans to invest in these income generating businesses. This enables them to work their way out of poverty, become self-sufficient and able to provide for themselves and their families

Other nominations were:

SI Sunderland for their ‘Streetcare’ project - A service project where members prepare, cook and serve meals to the Homeless

SI Maidstone/SI Accra for their project ‘Kente Sashes’ - The club sells the traditional Ghanaian Kente sashes specially designed for SI. This provides work for the weavers and profits will purchase equipment for a specialist library for blind students at the university in Accra.

Education

SI Pune India for their project ‘Educate the Girl Child’

This is the most important ongoing project for SI Pune.  The club sponsors the education of selected girls from 8^th Standard onwards, the point at which many drop out of education as parents are unable to support them further.  Working in partnership with others they raise the funds for ongoing education, but the most important aspect of this project is that each girl has a mentor from amongst the club members. The girls are guided right through their education. A high percentage of them now have academic and professional qualifications and in turn now help and encourage other girls to continue with their education.  It is a project of passion, commitment and much hard work by the members of SI Pune.

Also nominated were:

SI Bilston for their project ‘The Kenyan Camel Library’. The club had two fund raising targets, one to raise money for books and the other for a female camel.  Camel libraries are set up to improve literacy rates in nomadic tribes in Kenya. The club had great fun and achieved both objectives

SI Keighley for their project ‘Breaking Down Barriers’.  This excellent service project gives help with literacy and language to Asian mums, who will then be more able to help their children. It has also given club members a greater understanding of the local Asian community.

Environment

SI Perth for their vegetable/food garden at Enkatazweni School

Enkatazweni School is for mentally challenged children and young adults. The idea of the garden was to provide vegetables for use in the kitchen to provide the learners with lunch and any surplus vegetables would be sold to provide money for future planting. The learners also help in the garden, weeding, watering and planting thereby learning new skills and they also prepared the food in the kitchen for the lunches, educating them in cookery and domestic chores.

Also nominated were:

SI Port Talbot for helping their friendship link SI North Bombay to construct a two-seater toilet block in Chinchvali a farming village near Shantivan in India.

SI Preston for raising money to enable the Kamaila village in Zambia to have fresh water and for the girls to have 3 new washrooms at the school so they could continue their education. Also volunteers painted 3 classrooms at the school.

Health

SI Sutton Coldfield for their EMBO project

This Project consists mainly of grannies caring for children orphaned by AIDS. It helps them be self-sufficient, growing vegetables, cooking together and making goods to sell. The Club raises money and members visit the Project and receive regular updates and photographs from their Friendship Link SI Durban.

Also nominated were:

SI Birkenhead for their HIV/Aids Testing Clinic Port Elizabeth.  This is a major, on-going Project in which SI Birkenhead raises funds to establish an HIV/AIDS Testing Clinic within the grounds of Resurrection Aids Haven in Port Elizabeth, S. Africa. The aim is to raise £25,000.

SI Durham for the Wear Surma Clinic.  This on-going Project supports the Wear Surma Clinic and aims to help provide toilets and clean water in a remote village in Bangladesh. This clinic was started by a member of SI Sunderland who visits the clinic frequently and updates SI Durham on the progress.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN

SI Poole for their Human Trafficking ‘Teardrop’ Campaign.

The club has supported Hampshire Safe House for trafficked women for two years, but wanted to do more.  Following discussions in the club a project emerged which included a purple ribbon campaign with a distinctive ‘teardrop’ pin, and an advertising campaign.  The club worked with the local police Pentameter 2 team.  A high profile launch event was held in September 2008 with speakers from the Medaille Trust, the local police and CHASTE (Churches against Sex Trafficking in Europe).  People attending the launch included local Members of Parliament, representatives from local authorities and other agencies across Dorset and the press.

Other nominations were:

SI Chennai (Madras), India for their seminar on Trafficking of Girls and Women

SI Port Louis, Mauritius for their project on the Commercial and Sexual Exploitation of Children.

Congratulations to all the clubs who have been nominated!