A unique opportunity to work as an intern supporting community projects in Pretoria, South Africa   The internships are open to two young women between the ages of 18 and 25. During the six-month stay in 2019, the selected candidates will be working to support staff in two schools and at Lerato House.  The actual placement or placements will be decided on arrival – matching the skills of the candidates to the needs of the projects. At Makgatho Primary School, pictured left, extra support is needed in the library helping the pupils with their reading and IT.  There will be many opportunities to join in with school activities in general and to interact with families in the local township.  The school was named after Nelson Mandela’s oldest son. Motheong Primary School is a fee-paying Pre-School and Primary School, but many bursaries are given to children from

Emily Davison Memorial Project There are plans to erect a statue in Epsom’s Market Place in memory of Emily Wilding Davison.  The proposed artwork will take the form of ‘Emily’ sitting on a bench in the updated town centre. A real photo opportunity!  Christine Charlesworth MRBS SWA, has been selected to produce the sculpture and costs are in the region of £50,000.  Support from Epsom and Ewell Borough Council including a meaningful donation of £20,000 from unused town development funds is greatly appreciated and it is hoped that matched-funding can be attracted from the local business community.  Epsom and Ewell residents have been generous with their donations and it is planned to unveil the statue on Emily’s birthday – October 11th.The planning group has a good mix of specialists and enthusiasts, including Epsom Councillors.  It has been good meeting up with Irene Cockroft (SI London Chilterns) who

Thank you for taking time to visit our site.  Your contact is especially welcome, as very soon we will be celebrating our 60th birthday! We’re a small group of like-minded women at SI Epsom who believe that through practical means and by raising awareness of issues that effect women and their families around the world, we can make a difference.  We cover a large area and although we are based in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, the London Borough of Sutton and Mole Valley are in our ‘patch’. We endeavour to make our meetings ‘user friendly’ and keep business to a minimum.  We enjoy presentations by speakers from various local and international organisations and talks by specialists in a wide range of occupations.  But we go back to the statement made at a recent SIGBI conference, “Programme Action (the ‘doing’ part of our programme) is

Flood victims in Pakistan have lights for the very first time, thanks to Epsom Soroptimists. Epsom Soroptimists are delighted that in 2011, their generous aid to the flood victims of Pakistan resulted in villagers receiving solar powered lighting for their homes and villages – something that they have never enjoyed before.  The homes now have a single bulb inside and another outside the front door, which means that the entire village has light at night. Working in partnership with SI Karachi Central, SI Epsom & DIstrict (Sutton and Mole Valley) will be raising more funds to help yet more people. STOP PRESS – ANOTHER £100 WAS GIVEN AT THE BRIGHTON CONFERENCE! And the good news is that the original solar panels and lighting survived the more recent floods.      

  Women and their Art 2015′ at Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell was again a glorious mix of work that showcased the prodigious talent of local women artists.  Without the generosity of the participants who pay to hang their work for the week, SI Epsom would not have been able to raise valuable funds for two local charities. This year, both My Time for Young Carers and WaterAid received generous funds support their work – My Time working with local children and young people whose lives are negatively affected by difficult situations at home and WaterAid brining clean water and sanitation to communities in need.. The Mayor of Epsom and Ewell attended the preview of the show with the Lady Mayoress and we were delighted to also welcome the President of SI Southern England.         

Back in 2012, visitors and Club Members alike were hugely impressed by the presentation by Adele Eastman – Senior Policy Specialist at the Centre for Social Justice.  She led the organisation’s Educational Exclusion work. Adele’s research into why students are excluded from our schools and her ensuing report – excerpts of which she shared with, triggered an animated and focused debate.  What could we do about the problem?  It was impossible to reach a conclusion.  But one thing stood out – children and young people with behavioural and educational problems are not necessarily from homes that are short of money, but a huge number are living with parents who have little time to give to their children. With the stresses that modern day parents face, especially long working hours, adults are too tired to monitor their children’s behaviour and give effective and appropriate discipline.  The meeting discussed the

  Human Trafficking Conference Saturday 11th September 2010 Leatherhead Leisure Centre Two of our members had attended an Amnesty International UK evening devoted to the problem of Human Trafficking.  Moved by what they saw and inspired to ‘do something’, the decision to stage a local conference on the subject was taken. Our aim was to inform delegates – not only about the horrifying statitistics of this global trade in human lives, but also highlight the wonderful work of a wide range of charities and initiatives that strive to stop the trade and/or support the victims.  We hope delegates were inspired to make a difference too. The day was jam packed with information and unfortuntaely space doesn’t allow us to report everything word for word.  However, the following conference reports have very kindly been submitted by two of the delegates.  I urge you to read them. REPORT ON SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF EPSOM’S TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE:  11 SEPTEMBER 2010 AT