Friendship Link Coordinators
Julia Search is SI Medway and Maidstone’s friendship link coordinator. She is responsible for communicating with our 6 friendship links.
Our 6 Friendship Link Clubs
With SI Maidstone members transferring across they have brought 3 of their friendship link clubs with them to join with the 2 friendship links previously with SI Medway. This year we have a brand new friendship link with SI Chaguanas in Trinidad and Tobago. Annette Davies met with Christine Cole at the SIGBI London Conference in November and it was suggested we have a Friendship Link. Thus was agreed and put in place and we received the Friendship Certificate in January 2024.
The 6 clubs are: –
- SI Accra – Ghana
- SI Chaguanas – Trinidad and Tobago
- SI Heswall and District – UK
- SI Le Quesnoy – France
- SI Osnabruck – Germany
- SI Voorburg – Netherlands
What are Friendship Links?
Friendship Links are ways in which Clubs come together to partner for furthering the objectives of Soroptimist International (SI). The Millennium Development Goal 8 is to develop a global partnership for meeting the needs of development. SI translates this into Friendship Links. Friendship Links are vital to all Soroptimist Clubs. They are the key to the International Soroptimist world.
Friendship Link with SI Osnabruck
SI Medway has been linked with SI Osnabruck since 2002.
SI Osnabruck was formed on 20 October 2001 when Julia Search was SI Medway’s Club President and keen to develop our international links. Long term friendships were established and one of those is between Julia and Ilse Heinzen-Dammeier from Osnabruck club.
Ilse was visiting Kent and staying with Julia.
They are both seen here together at Julia’s having been joined by another Medway member, Jane Barnes. They took advantage of the opportunity to catch upon the news of what has been happening for each club in relation to membership, communication and programme action projects and how we can work together and share good practice.
Following an invitation from SI Osnabruck’s President Marie-Luise to visit them this year – work is underway planning SI Medway’s next friendship weekend visit in December that will coincide with the popular Christmas Market season.
Friendship Link with Le Quesnoy
SI Medway also has a friendship link spanning more than 30 years with SI Le Quesnoy, which is in the north of France and was chartered on 28 September 1986. in September 2016, Medway Soroptimists Angela Howe and Jane Barnes drove to Le Quesnoy to attend their 30th Anniversary Weekend Celebrations. They had a great time catching up with some old Soroptimist friends and making new ones.
Friendship Link Zoom Get Togethers
On 8 May, Medway and Maidstone Soroptimist , Julia Search hosted a Zoom Get Together with our 4 of our Friendship Link clubs. We were pleased that members from Heswall, Chaguanas, Osnabruck and Voorburg clubs were able to join for part or whole of the meeting.
It is always great when we all get together to share what each club is doing to improve the lives of women and girls throughout the world. We heard from SI Voorburg about initial plans to mark ‘Orange the World’ working with partners, such as with the social sofa project in Europe. SI Heswall are busy this year as they celebrate 75 years of service to the community. Whilst our newest Friendship link SI Chaguanas spoke of their work to produce a comic for schools on solar power. Also, in May as Membership month, we heard about those clubs who have successfully recruited new members.
Finally, we reflected on whether there is still value in Friendship Link clubs meeting this way. There was unanimous support to continue and so we look forward to the next Get Together later in the year.