Nalini Parasram-Rajballie, SI Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
The country flags, representing the members of the SIGBI Federation, waved in a kaleidoscope of colour and pageantry on the Edinburgh stage; SIGBI’ s 90th Conference had begun. The opening ceremony exuded a sense of celebration of our collective similarities, and unique differences, gathering us together in a vision of women transforming the lives of women and girls.
That idea of Soroptimism as a force of good in the world, was brought home by the motivational opening address of Debora Kayembe, Immediate Past Rector of Edinburgh University.
“Are we leading the world?”, her opening question, was answered by her declaration that “Women can do anything.” That was undoubtedly the moral of her inspiring personal story of journeying from difficulty to the stars. As a young lawyer in her 20s, forced to seek asylum in the UK, she was discovered and then supported every step of the way by Soroptimists.
After she was granted refugee status, she continued to climb the career ladder. The secret to her success? “The secret is education. Give yourself more education again and again until you are the best in your field.” This philosophy of success led to her becoming the first black woman in over 400 years to become a rector at Edinburgh University.
As she summarised the power of women to be forces of positive change in the world, making a positive impact at both the individual and collective levels, she declared that “Women will make this a better place to live.”
And so, the 90th Edinburgh Conference was opened by a remarkable woman whose ground-breaking success was a nod to her personal strength, perseverance and resilience, as well as the power of Soroptimist women’s support and assistance to transform the lives of women and girls.