Pam Cairns
Welcome to Soroptimist International of Dundee.
This has been an exciting year for the Dundee Club. In April we celebrated our 80th anniversary, a remarkable achievement. Throughout this period, Dundee Soroptimists have worked tirelessly to improve the lives of women and girls both nationally and internationally. There is still much to do.
I have chosen as my theme Educate to Free, which I believe fits well with Soroptimist International aim of working to transform the lives of women and girls through education and leadership.
It has been shown that when girls from poor communities are educated they can be freed from:
HIV Domestic Violence
Female genital mutilation Large families
Poor health Poverty
In so doing their children are at less risk of being abandoned to the streets or falling foul of traffickers who use them as a commodity, to be bought and sold in the sex industry or bonded labour market.
Past President Jan last year introduced us to Mary’s Meals. This proved to be a very popular charity with club members and much was achieved. I would like us to continue to support Mary’s Meals for another year because I believe they do a fantastic job, encouraging children into school with a nourishing meal.
I plan to continue to raise awareness about human trafficking. Recent BBC Radio Scotland broadcasts have highlighted the concerns of the Police and Amnesty International about trafficking victims among migrant fruit workers; in Tayside there are many migrant workers.
At SI Dundee we have welcomed the new technological era as it has made communication much easier; we keep members informed by email which allows us to make our club meetings much more interesting and less bureaucratic. It is very easy to follow Soroptimist International on Facebook and Twitter; a great way to keep up with activities at both Federation and International level.
This year we plan a recruitment drive. Any woman is eligible to join our organisation if she shares our common aim of wishing to improve the lives of women and girls both at home and in developing countries.
Please get in touch if this applies to you, we would love to hear from you.email pam.cairns@googlemail.com
Pam
President SI Dundee