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Testimonials

Extract from a letter from Derby Women’s Centre

We have worked with the Soroptimists since 2012 and they have been involved in a number of workshops and projects.
The Soroptimists delivered workshops on quilting to a small number of service users where they produced a wall hanging quilt, which is today taking pride of place in our waiting area, and cushions for them to take home.
The Soroptimists then went on to deliver confidence courses which were always popular with our services users. They facilitated these in a fun way and adapted them to the needs of the service users in the group to have the greatest impact.
As a progression from these courses they also worked with Derby Women’s Centre on our Moving On project. The aim of the Moving on Programme was for a minimum of 28 unemployed women aged 19+ to access the programme, most of whom had experienced mental health conditions or disabilities that were affecting their ability to find work, employment and training opportunities. The project supported many vulnerable women living in Derby city and the rest of the county; many of whom had experienced social isolation due to factors such as domestic abuse and mental health problems.
The Soroptimists were committed facilitators, friendly, hardworking and energetic. They faced challenging situations which were handled well, taking into account the ethos and policies of the Centre. They were always considerate in their dealings with the service users showing empathy and understanding with the ability to respond to their needs in a positive way taking into account the group as a whole. The Soroptimists built up an excellent rapport with service users and as a result received outstanding feedback from the service users in relation to the workshops. The Soroptimists were extremely professional at all times and were a pleasure to work with.

Extract from letter from Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA) in Cameroon

Today there is a change ‘for better’ in the Baba II community as potable water that used to be a dream far-fetch is found in the heart of the Mbororo and non-Mbororo settlement.
This has rekindled hope off decent livelihood among the community members who for long had been abandoned to the mercy of water related diseases.
According to Women’s Group president Mrs Fatu she is yet to forget the 5 kilometres she used to cover to get potable water.
Hawe Buba a female student in the community now breath a sigh of relief as she will no longer absent herself from school just to get water for the family, especially during the dry season.
The availability of water in the community has also minimised the communal differences between the graziers and their farming neighbours.

From which ever angle a Baba II community member is talking about the community water project funded by SI UK through Village Aid UK one can deduce the fact that the project has resolved some teeth grinding problems that existed in the community as a result of the lack of potable water.
Unusa, Karima MBOSCUDA, Cameroon

Women’s Refuge

Comments from questionnaires completed by recipients of our welcome packs:

I had a small amount of things when I came. thank you, me and my son had not been allowed biscuits in so long.
I had to flee with nothing, thank you so much, the donation helped my situation.
I left my home with nothing, thank you for your donation, it helped me a lot.
I am very grateful for these things. Thank you so much.
I didn’t think about bringing this stuff, big thank you!
I didn’t have to worry about getting food on arrival, could settle in first, very grateful, much appreciated.
I had no food and no money, thank you so much it meant a lot.
I had nothing and no money and I thought no one cared. Your pack made me cry that someone could think about my kids. Thank you so much for this gift which has meant so much to us.
Comment on the garden – “I love that little garden I often go and sit in there”
Thank you from Derby Social Services

Every year the gifts you donate are gladly received by our Care Leavers. On behalf of the Leaving Care Team and ALL the Care Leavers, I would like to say a big thank you.

Your generosity is very much appreciated.

From Shelley Mc Bride at Derby Community Parenting ( during the Covid lockdown)

Just wanted to send a huge thank you to you and the team for the amazing Baby Bundles that you supplied for us to gift to expectant parents.

We dropped them with the next 10 parents who were due and the response was overwhelming. They were really touched by the kind gesture and felt it eased some of the pressures on them. Some expectant parents were relying on others to do their shopping as pregnant women were classed as vulnerable and told to isolate. The bags you provided meant they didn’t have to rely on others to shop for items of a sensitive nature such as maternity pads , and the beautiful bags they came in made it feel like special present as opposed to charity.

The work you guys do is amazing and appreciated and I’d love it if you would feed back to all involved the impact that their kindness has had on some vulnerable families throughout Derby throughout a particularly challenging time.