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Visit to Bristol Port

Visit to Bristol Port

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  On Tuesday 13th September 4 members of S.I. Bristol ( and 2 Soroptomisters) joined S.I Weston-super- Mare on their trip around the Bristol Port. The group gathered outside the Priory Inn in Portbury and were transported by coach to the H.Q. of the Port at St. Andrews House to collect our official guide. There has been a port in Bristol since Roman times. The original Avonmouth Dock was opened in 1877 and The Royal Portbury Dock in 1977. Private investors bought the dock in 1991 to create the Bristol Port Company. It employs 600 people and over 10,000 jobs in the South West depend on the Port and businesses on Port land. A wide variety of imports and exports pass through the docks (apart from 600 thousand cars per year), including coal and wood pellets, animal feed,grain, food and drink, paper and wood products,

September 12th 2016 The Vietnam holiday makers don’t see

September 12th 2016 The Vietnam holiday makers don’t see

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At our supper meeting on Monday 12th of September, the speaker was Anne Woolley a member of SI Weston-super-Mare, who had a remarkable story to tell us of her adoption of a Vietnamese little girl called Tam. Anne had 3 little boys and she and her husband wanted to complete her family with a little girl. She saw the terrible, but now infamous picture of the little child running naked down the road having been burnt by napalm, and decided at that moment to adopt a Vietnamese child. She then related how she surmounted tremendous obstacles with great tenacity with the help of contacts that she made in Vietnam, and a campaign mounted by the Daily Mail editor David English to bring orphaned children to the UK and give them a fresh start in life. Anne recalled the terrible air crash in which many of the

Mary’s Meals: An SI Bristol member’s personal journey to Malawi

Mary’s Meals: An SI Bristol member’s personal journey to Malawi

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A video of the Mary’s Meals charity was shown at the SI Bristol business meeting on Monday, 25th July showing how the charity works together with details of various children who have received the food and education given from funds raised which appropriately have improved their lives.  Members could see and hear how over one million children now receive a daily meal and some education in Malawi, one of the poorest nations.  Anne Wike who, has recently visited Malawi for the third time, confirmed that 93% of funds donated went toward the charity’s commitments and activities.  Similarly, all funds are always held in a bank in Scotland in order to ensure complete control of all monies donated.  Anne likewise confirmed she had witnessed for herself the storing and issuing of the backpacks given by Soroptimists to the children to use at their schools. She suggested

SI Bristol supports Zero Tolerance 25.07.16

SI Bristol supports Zero Tolerance 25.07.16

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President Pauline Hurst seen here together with club member Gemma Green, signing the club members’ agreement to support the Bristol Zero Tolerance initiative.  The new initiative is working towards Bristol becoming a city free from violence, abuse, harassment and exploitation with the majority of people affected being women and girls. President Pauline stated ‘ As Bristol Soroptimists, we fully support this very worthy cause especially as Bristol is the first city in England to take on this important challenge’ For more information about the Bristol Zero Tolerance initiative please see here: http://www.bristolzerotolerance.com/

SIGBI Day of Action – Bristol raise money for Meru Women

SIGBI Day of Action – Bristol raise money for Meru Women

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On Sunday 17th July 2016, SI Bristol got together for the Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Day of Action. The day aims to encourage all clubs across the world to raise funds for the Soroptimist 3 year project for Meru Women. Over the next three years Soroptimist Clubs will support the Meru Women’s Garden Project (MWGP), a collaboration with Child.org, that will educate, empower and enable women and girls in Meru County, Kenya. The project provides sustainable gardening techniques and tools, enabling women to become mentors and pioneers of agricultural sustainability within the community. It will also educate girls on their rights, empowering them to stand up to damaging cultural practices like female genital mutilation (FGM). By providing economic opportunities to women and girls, MWGP will achieve long term change by strengthening entire communities; improving the lives and opportunities for children and generations

Welcome Yuko

Welcome Yuko

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SI Bristol welcomed Yuko Tsuji to our supper and speaker meeting on  July 11th. Yuko was the Japanese Friendship  Link Officer when her club Kure Aquamarine  and SI Bristol  started their Friendship Link. SI Kure Aquamarine club is near to Hiroshima in Japan. Yuko took the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Bristol after collecting her son Huma from his school in Malvern. Yuko presented SI Bristol with a lovely collection of Japanese sweets. President Pauline presented Yuko with a gift to take to the members of Kure Aquamarine. This is the third time Yuko has visited us. It is always a delight to see her again.  

Soroptimist International South West & Channel Islands Regional AGM and Conference 25th June 2016

Soroptimist International South West & Channel Islands Regional AGM and Conference 25th June 2016

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The annual Regional AGM and Conference held on the last Saturday of June was a lively and friendly occasion.   It was attended by Ann Hodgson, our Federation President Elect, and provided an opportunity to meet up with friends from around our large geographical region. A very good video about the charity, Unseen, about trafficking was shown – though unfortunately the speaker was ill and unable to join us.   But for me the highlight of the conference was an inspiring and moving talk by Helen Young, a member of Bath Club about the charity ACROSS which runs Jumbulances.   These are specially extended and equipped coaches with full facilities to take sick and disabled passengers on 10 day trips to Lourdes and the South of France where they stay in a specially selected hotel near the Grotto. We had the opportunity to have a guided tour round

June 13th 2016 Hearing from our Charity of the Year – Off The Record

June 13th 2016 Hearing from our Charity of the Year – Off The Record

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On the evening of 13th June SI Bristol’s focus was firmly on the President’s Charity of the Year – Off The Record (OTR). We were warmly greeted by Simon Newitt CEO who informed us that last year OTR celebrated their 50th Anniversary, having started in Bristol in November 1965. They formed initially as part of the Youth Club Association and were entirely run by volunteers, focusing on marriage counselling. How times have changed! OTR’s current mission is to support, promote and defend the mental health rights and social position of young people. Simon told us how the social element of their work is essential, since stresses for young people are often related to their identity which can only be resolved by openly talking about how young people fit into society, alongside empowering them to develop their own voice. Anxiety is the most prevalent condition in

Bristol Soroptimist’s Charity presentation

Bristol Soroptimist’s Charity presentation

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At our meeting on June 27th Bristol Soroptimists were delighted to be able to present representatives from the Charity ‘Special Friends’ with a cheque for £4415.00 raised by our many events in 2015-16. Special Friends Trustee Jo Davies and the Treasurer Maya Vaitilingam gave us the news that their Charity is expanding their Club to continue giving support to young people up to the age of 25 . One of their special social events is to visit Bristol Hippodrome for the ‘informal’ Pantomime performance each year and Jo and Maya thanked the Soroptimists for their generosity which will help them enable these plans in the coming year.