International Women’s Day 2021#ChooseToChallenge

Our Soroptimist motto for this year’s International Women’s day is  #We Choose To Challenge.

Soroptimists around the world have been celebrating International Women’s Day for many years.   So it’s been great to hear so much on the BBC about it this year.    From songs such as the iconic ‘Sisters are doing for themselves’ by the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin to the brilliant film ‘Hidden Figures‘.

Clubs around the country have been busily posting on their social media sites.   Do take a moment to click on this link to watch a fabulous video made by SI Bristol. International Women’s Day 2021 – 537DAFF8 9E51 4403 8A4B 988212459F44 – YouTube

There is much to be optimistic about that finally by choosing to challenge the status quo we can succeed in achieveinggender equality by 2030.

Many of our Club joined this year’s Midland Arden Region Zoom  meeting, raising our hands to confirm that we too choose to challenge.

Although our March Midland Arden Region (MAR) meeting was very different from last year, we are becoming accustomed to Zoom.  As ever we enjoyed hearing about the Programme Action that is still happening, despite the restrictions that Covid has brought.    Programme Action of course being at the heart of everything we do as Soroptimists.

The speaker was the inspirational Samira Manaseki-Holland.   Her theme was ‘Women – The Missing Link to Global Peace’.    Her talk covered many of the issues concerning the problems caused by Covid, especially to women around the world.    The injustices and poverty and lack of access to education for women.   The corruption of leaders, apathy of leads, and the lack of co-operation at all levels.   However, Samira ended on a note of hope.   We can all be agents for change, peace and justice.

You can read more about her talk on the MAR website

Club Updates

President Gill had the pleasure of inducting our newest member Amina at our Zoom meeting on the 4th.   We can’t wait to meet Amina in person.

We also heard how the money raised at the September MAR meeting had been used by our good friends in Malawi to help children with cancer.

Our Lend with Care donations are also working well.   The projects we have supported are now fully funded and indeed, starting to pay their loans back.   Amazing in such a short time.

It’s humbling to hear how such relatively small amounts of money by our standards can make such life changing differences to these people.

Our Club is Choosing to Challenge the Status Qu0 – and make a difference