PROGRAMME ACTION

We call our voluntary work Programme Action; this is the reason for being a Soroptimist.  The name reflects the Mission Statement of Soroptimist International:

We are Soroptimists     Women inspiring action, transforming lives

We are vibrant, dynamic and like-minded women working on global to local projects that help improve the lives of women and girls 

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SI Perth – Programme Action Projects

• Joint Mangrove Tree Planting Project with CPD Kenya
• Tayside Woodland Partnership – planting trees at Blackhaugh Farm
• Girlguiding P & K – celebrating Thinking Day with a Brownie Dress Designing Competition
• P & K Council (local Primary School) – Poetry Competition
• Ukraine & Afghanistan Refugees – donating blankets, clothes, toiletries, medicines and food to PKAVS in Perth and to Esolperth, along with monetary donations
• RASAC – donating 10,000 bookmarks to be distributed to secondary schools’ pupils and to community organisations.  Knitting Trauma teddies and knee blankets
• Human Trafficking – Gifting copies of Brave Bear Books to local libraries, organisations and charities.  Financial support to SOHTIS and to the Free to Live Trust
• Recycling – Blister Packs, bottle tops and batteries – collected in weekly
• Perth Baby Bank, Buttons & Bows – Donating items and monetary gift to support their work
• Smalls for All – providing lightly used bras and packs of pants for girls and women in Africa and Europe
• P & K Council – 16 Days of Activism Campaign – taking part in events, providing a speaker – advocating for the cessation of Violence Against Women
• Women’s Aid – Financial donation to provide Christmas Gift Vouchers for victims of violence, taking part in ‘Reclaim the Night’ March through the streets of Perth
• Perth Music Festival – providing volunteers
• FGM – Sponsoring a girl from Maasai Girls Project in Africa
• Water Aid – Monetary donation
• Starter Packs – we donate household items on a regular basis
• Linus Project – providing quilts for children of comfort in crises
• Blytheswood – donating goods at Christmas time
• Aberlour Child Care Trust – monetary donation

We welcomed speakers from these organisations at our meetings during 2021/2022

• Global Sight Solutions
• Aberlour Child Care Trust
• Tayside Communities Woodland Carbon Group
• SOHTIS (Human Trafficking)
• Centre for Development and Peace – Kenya (CDP Kenya)
• Past SIGBI President speaking on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) careers for women & girls.
• Perthshire Women’s Aid
• Action Aid
• Women for Women International
• Climate Change (SI Perth speaker)

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SI Perth – 2020 – 2021 Programme Action Projects

          RASAC Youth Ambassadors Bookmark Project   

We have partnered with RASAC, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Perth in one of their school education programmes to provide bookmarks which will be distributed to all secondary schools in Perthshire by RASAC Youth Ambassadors.  The bookmark contains wording on a theme of “What is Sexual Violence?”   These are aiming to educate young people on how to identify, prevent and tackle sexual violence should they encounter it at any time.

8,000 Bookmarks have been printed and are being distributed at the moment (Nov. 2020)

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Modern Day Slavery/Human Trafficking

SI Perth take a keen interest in supporting organisations working against human traffickers.  We do this is a number of different ways:

• Keeping up to date with campaigning to raise awareness of MDS both locally and internationally
• Supporting SOHTIS (Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland) in their fight to ensure the survivors of trafficking enjoy lasting freedom
• Supporting The Free to Live Trust’s Seema’s Home in Pune, India.  Seema’s Home is a place of safety for children of trafficked girls trapped in the red light area, and a rehabilitation home for some of the MDS victims themselves.  There are currently 60 children in the Children’s Home aged from 2 years to 16 years and 8 rescued victims over 16 years of age. Pictures below show new residents arriving in late June 2020, out of the dangers of the red light area.  Check out the Free to Live Trust’s website for more information – www.freetolivetrust.org

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African Projects

• Collecting new pants and lightly used bras for SMALLS FOR ALL to give girls the chance of full time education.
• SMALLS FOR ALL  is an organisation who operate from the UK and support people and charitable organisations working on projects in Africa who are able to transport and distribute the pants and bras they collect. Underwear has gone to many countries in Africa, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zanzibar.  SMALLS FOR ALL also help charities that focus on alleviating poverty in the UK by providing them with underwear.

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Violence Against Women

Soroptimists of Perth have worked locally for many years supporting organisations like Women’s Aid and RASAC, in various ways including:

• Taking part in the annual Reclaim The Night Marches in Perth
• Supporting local and national campaigns – at the present time (Nov. 2020) we are taking part in the 16 Days of Activism Campaign in Perth.  See our Club News 2020 page for details of this.
• Working with RASAC (our local Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre) in a joint project raising awareness of their services (bookmarks) and collecting toiletries at Christmas.

  

  

  

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Female Genital Mutiliation (FGM)

• Lobbying and raising awareness to stop FGM where advocacy needed

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Support in Local Community

Like the rest of the population, we knitted during lock-down – beautiful lacy blankets for Care Homes, squares which are then crocheted into knee rugs for a Psychiatric Hospital.  Tiny baby clothes are being knitted for a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and trauma teddies for the children cared for by Women’s Aid.  These will be given to the intended recipients as soon as current restrictions permit them to accept the items.

One of our members also made 20 beautiful decorated laundry bags – nurses’ and doctors’ scrubs are placed in the bags prior to popping them in the washing machine, to prevent any cross infection during the wash.

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Sponsorship of Students 

Soila Girls Maasai Centre – We continue to sponsor the care, protection and education of Lucy, a young orphan girl in Kenya deemed at high risk of FGM and premature marriage.  Although the Kenyan Government has closed down schools and orphanages in response to the Covid pandemic, Lucy and 11 others have remained under the care of the Centre.

CPD Kenya – A financial donation was sent to the Center for Development and Peace in Mombasa to help provide hand-washing soaps, face masks, gloves, sanitizers and communication Covid-19 posters supplied by the Ministry of Health.  CPD is a youth and women led organisation formed in 2016.  They work passionately to engage the community for progressive development.  Check out their website icpdkenya.org for more information about them.