A woman dies from ovarian cancer every two hours, yet the diagnosis and treatment lags behind high profile diseases like prostate or breast cancer. Ovarian Cancer Action – a UK charity dedicated to beating the sixth most common cancer in women aims to empower women, to give them a voice, and to create a better future for the thousands of mothers, partners, sisters, daughters and friends affected by this disease. Ross Little from Ovarian Cancer Action will be coming to the Medway Soroptimist meeting on 8th March giving a talk to raise awareness. With no national screening programme and a low survival rate it’s vital that everyone is educated about the disease and its symptoms so cases can be identified early. Women diagnosed at stage 1 have a 90% survival rate compared to 19% at stage 3. Find out more at 7.30pm Thursday 8th March

Seven members of SI Medway Towns enjoyed a lunch in aid of The Meru Garden Project at the London Beach Hotel in Tenterden last Sunday. It was a really good event and the London Beach donated £1825 which is £25 per person to Federation President Sue Biggs and Regional President Jane Webb. Sue Biggs acknowledged the work done by South East Region towards the target which is currently £105k and means have been able to deliver twice as much support to date. SI Medway Towns did very well in the raffle, Wanda won first prize of tickets to Visit Great Dixter and Janice a signed book.  

Medway Soroptimist social committee organised a tour of the local distillery the Copper Rivet. Meeting at McQuires café, we enjoyed a light lunch before heading next door to see the distillery process in action. Housed inside a listed building, Pumphouse No.5 was built in 1873 and used to play a big role in the history of Chatham Dockyard until it closed in 1984. Our guide explained the ‘grain to glass’ process with a botanicals masterclass and an introduction to the large stills all named after members of the owners family. The distillery will produce Masthouse, a single malt whisky, Dockyard Gin, Vela Vodka and Son of a Gun – an unaged grain. We tasted a sample of each before enjoying a large G&T with a grapefruit garnish in the bar.

S.I Medway Towns took advantage of an International Women’s Day event in Chatham Dockyard to publicize Soroptimists and to further raise awareness of Modern Slavery or Human Trafficking locally. Although people are more aware of the crime of Human Trafficking generally, most are still surprised that it goes on right under our noses and that they have the power to do something about it by keeping their eyes and ears open. The information given out will help people to spot the signs of Human trafficking and, by reporting their suspicions, help the police rescue the victims and bring the traffickers to justice.