Starting from 20th April 2022, our club meeting dates will change to the third Wednesday of each month. If you wish to find out more about us and our work, please contact us at sifolkestone@gmail.com. Meetings are held at Waitrose at Hythe. We would be glad to welcome you along.
Please note our venue for 2022 is Waitrose Cafe in Hythe at 7:00, please contact us on sifolkestone@gmail.com if you wish to come along to find out more about us. A warm and friendly welcome is guaranteed
Please note that from our November meeting, we will meet at a new venue The Folkestone Business Hub, First Floor, Aspen House, West Terrace, Folkestone CT20 1TH
Susannah De Sanvil from our sister club SI Ashford gave us a very entertaining walk-through her photos and tales from her study trip to the Meru Women’s Garden Project. In April Susannah with 24 Soroptimists from around the UK and one “Soroptimister” visited Meru County where she saw the project in action and meet some of the girls taking part. Delivered in a Sarah Milligan-esque style, she told us about kissing giraffes, the details of the different toilets or lack off, as well as making us feel every bump of the minibus rides. She also covered the serious side like the Alternative Rites of Passage (ARP) weekend seminars to empower young girls on the subject of FGM, and how the project is progressing with the women growing produce in their gardens in a way that made you feel you were there with her.
Our May meeting opened with the this quote from Helen Keller Our speaker was John Clayton from HI Kent, a locally based charity supporting the deaf and hard of hearing in Kent and East Sussex. HI Kent, which stands for Hearing Impaired Kent has been established since 1986 and is a very underfunded charity without Government support. HI Kent was awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary service which they are extremely proud of. Some of the statistics 1in 5 people are either deaf or hard of hearing in those over 50 1 in 10 people suffer Tinnitus HI Kent have helped over 6500 people 248 support clinics are run where NHS aids can be cleaned 8 support groups in Kent, Ashford and Dover nearest Deafness leaves people feeling isolated and left out, and reluctant to participate in everyday events HI Kent is supported
In April, we held our AGM, and celebrated our achievements of the last year with a meal at The Tavernetta. We were joined by two guests Caroline and Joanna who came to find out more about Soroptimists. President Jan handed over the reins to Jacalyn. Jan has done a great job in moving the club forward over the last year, and for the work on the Beacon school project and the Woman of the Year event. The club thanked her for all of her hard work. Jacalyn feeling rather nervous now thanked the club for putting their trust in her and asked them to Engage, have enthusiasm and Enjoyment in all we do. You can find out more about Jacalyn’s plans for her year here.
