International Women’s Day was marked around the world on 8th March with events celebrating the achievements of women and calling for greater equality.  The day has been recognised by the United Nations since 1975 although, in some European countries, it was first marked in 1911. The theme for this year was ‘Choose to Challenge’ – members were asked to take photos of themselves with a raised hand to show their commitment  to creating a more inclusive world. This fits well with the Soroptimist mission to transform the lives of women and girls through education. empowerment and enabling opportunities.  The Club was pleased to be able, thanks to specific donations from three members, to donate £120 to Manchester Action on Street Health.

We have had a request from Eliazar Rose at New Hope for knitted woolly beanie hats for the children. We all assume that the temperature in India is always high but apparently from late November to February they have very cold winds, which can cause the children to have chilblains on their ears. This is especially so for the Hill Tribes – the poorest of the poor – who are cared for by New Hope. Maureen Heywood New Hope is a charity based in Orissa, India, that the Club has supported for many years. Initially we sent clean, used tights which were used for leprosy patients to secure dressings. When leprosy became less prevalent we continued to support the charity by funding a hospice for HIV/AIDS children and cataract operations for the elderly. We have sponsored a schoolgirl and continue to send used greetings cards

Members were joined by friends and family to start their Christmas shopping (on Zoom of course) with Antonia’s Handbags. Hats, scarves, purses and umbrellas were available too – and over £150 was raised for our charities

Members donated 30 pairs of pyjamas to Emmeline’s Pantry  – a foodbank with a difference. They will be given at Christmas to some of the women who get support, food and other help from there .

The 16 days between 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10th December, Human Rights Day, are known as the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence – a UNESCO campaign. Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today and is a threat to millions of girls regardless of age, background or level of education, The colour orange symbolises a brighter future, free of violence and is, therefore, used as the colour of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. We started the 16 days with a virtual social meeting and confirmed donations to be made to four of our charities – Manchester Women’s Aid, Manchester Action on Street Health, Women MATTA and Act4Africa.

Our Annual General Meeting – delayed because of the pandemic – was held on Zoom on 15th October. Rosemarie Marginson was installed as President. New President Rose’s address included the induction of three members – Lori, Yemi and Sarah – who joined during lockdown.  

Our members took part in The Brilliant Breakfast on 13th October as part of our regular Tuesday Zoom Social meeting   We enjoyed coffee, cakes, fruit, bacon sandwiches, and a good chat, all whilst raising funds for The Prince’s Trust’s Women Supporting Women campaign, for young women in the UK who have been hardest hit by Covid-19.

Barbara, our Programme Action Officer, gave a presentation to a conference entitled ‘There is no Planet B’ organised by S I Madurai, one of our Friendship Link clubs. The conference was attended by over 100 members from all five Federations. ‘S I Manchester hasn’t really focussed on environmental projects in recent years, but we have started to challenge each other to make individual changes – to reduce, reuse and recycle. However, there are bigger challenges in our area. Like many great cities around the world Greater Manchester has a strong industrial and commercial heritage, from the early days of the cotton industry, through the development of major engineering industries to the current focus on service industries and the media. But this does come at a cost – there are not enough homes close to where people work, and not enough public transport or other infrastructure

Our Programme Action Officer , Barbara, has created a scarecrow on behalf of the Club for this competition organised by Act4Africa, one of our charities, and Sale and District Lions. The proceeds will go towards helping the response to coronavirus in impoverished rural communities in Uganda through Act4Africa and in local communities through Sale and District Lions. Our scarecrow is wearing the ‘Ask me why I’m a Soroptimist’ T shirt.

When Trafford Domestic Abuse Services posted their urgent appeal for toiletries, members of SI Manchester truly rose to the challenge! Today, Programme Action Officer Barbara and Treasurer Elaine delivered our donations of essential toiletries, hand made toiletry bags and £200 of shopping vouchers. In addition, the Club donated £50 towards necessities for TDAS’s new refuge. We are looking forward to hearing more about the organisation once club meetings resume.