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Club Events

Since SI Poona was chartered in April 1991, we celebrate our Charter Night in April every year by meeting at an informal dinner with family and friends. This is a much awaited event every year where the new executive committee is also selected.

We celebrate International Literacy Day in September when we distribute scholarship cheques to our deserving girl candidates, under our ‘Let me Bloom’ project. The performance of each girl is evaluated, and fresh cheques for the coming year given for those continuing their studies. Fresh
candidates are also selected and a total number of 10- to 12 girls are awarded scholarships. The girls are asked to speak about their goals and dreams and encouraged by members to achieve them. Mothers of successful candidates are also invited for the event.

Another important event is the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8th March every year. On this day we felicitate women of substance for their contribution to society. It had been decided that in addition to our chosen awardee, we would also felicitate one of our own members for their achievements and service. This year we had therefore chosen Ms. Meenkshi Ahuja, a leading hospitality trainer, also specialising in personality development and lifestyle related skills, and our own senior member Anu Wakhlu, Chairperson and executive director of Pragati Leadership, working in the field of Leadership Development and Human Resource Development for the last 30 years. There is a brief talk by the selected candidates about their work and interesting interactions with SI Pune members.

Besides these fixed events we have our regular monthly meetings where our business matters and future programs and plans are discussed.

‘Let Me Bloom’ – Fund Raiser 2024

The date 18 October 2024, was really an exciting day for the members of Soroptimist Pune, who had been preparing for months and working on every minute detail for the fund raiser for one of our oldest and pioneering project, “Let me Bloom” scheduled for this day. The event was attended by all our fellow Soroptimist sisters who were present in Pune on this date. The program was scheduled from 5pm- 8pm. Everyone gathered with full enthusiasm, tea along with biscuits was served initially for the audience to sip in some joy, thanks to Jayashree Kale for sponsoring the tea,

Let Me Bloom (Cheque Distribution 2024)

As the practice has been over the years of SI Poona Flagship Project, Let Me Bloom, this year too it was celebrated and the cheques were handed to the deserving candidates. Over the years the project is flourishing and the recipients are increasing. This definitely reflects the success of the project. As agreed by the members mutually, it was decided that it will be celebrated on 6 September at Infinity Vista. There were 17 recipients of the Scholarships. There were 8 members who were new this year. Out of total 17 girls, 12 attended the function along with one guardian.

Fund Raising Initiative

An effort towards 'Let Me Bloom'..! Soroptimist International Club of Poona conducted several musical, dance ballet, stagin of plays and film shows of award winning movies arranged at the National Film Archives of India to raise fnds for key projects. March 2018 also saw a musical program of devotional songs sung by two young upcoming artistes. The show was much appreciated and a substantial sum was raised for 'Girl Child Education Sponsorship' project - moving ahead with 'Let Me Bloom' ..!

Gender Activism and Equality

Gender Equality and Awareness: SI Poona kicked off the 16 days of Gender Activism by having a talk on Gender based Violence by known activist Indu Capoor of CHETNA. The talk focused on the discrimination that girls and women faced and looked at how we can bring about a change in this by role modelling and setting an example in our families. Members also celebrated by dressing up in Orange. This project was held in collaboration with National Institute of Naturopathy. The talk was delivered to members of SI Poona Outcome : Members reflected on their own experiences of having

Charter ceremony of SI Club of Srinagar (Kashmir)

One of our members, Anu Wakhlu took the initiative to introduce Sorptimism in Srinagar. As a result, on 19th Aug 2023, the first ever SI Club of Srinagar (Kashmir), saw the light of the day. The venue chosen was the College of Education, Srinagar. The Charter ceremony was conducted by SIGBI President Catherine Cottridge, who flew down from UK, to grace the occasion. The chief guest for the Installation ceremony was Prof. Nilofer Khan, Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, who attended the Charter ceremony online. She later joined the members for lunch; SI Srinagar was further honoured by presence of

Workshop on Menstruation and Hygiene

The Workshop on Menstruation and Hygiene was conducted by Ranjana Taskar with Anjana Mitra and Hazeka H Ginwala as attendees for the children of a corporate CSR group. The students consisted of both boys and girls, mostly between the age group of 17-21. Three academic year batches attended the workshop, with a total of 90+ students present. The workshop began with the display of a handbook on menstruation, followed by a PPT presentation prepared by Ranjana Taskar. The presentation consisted of 7 slides that explained the menstruation cycle, the monthly calendar of a girl’s cycle, the emotional and physical changes

English Project at UshaTai Lokhande Edu Trust School

I had visited the schools sometime in the beginning of this year and was impressed to see the students and teachers . The cleanliness, discipline was meticulous and the enthusiasm running high. When I interacted with the teachers and the students I could see the need for a bit of an impetus to make /encourage the students to speak more in English in order to prepare them for the outer world of higher studies and jobs. I also realized from my earlier experience of working in rural schools that It’s difficult for teachers to do extra work with students in

Joy of Learning

The joy of learning was coordinated by Mr. Mujtaba Lokhandwala Our both schools kai. Ushatai lokhande charitable trust sanchilit madhyamik vidyalay kauthe malkapur and wablewadi are both schools are running in tribal and rural area. We are in need of the correct direction according to the overall development of the school students and teachers . also the need of the inspiration for the students and teachers have get form this programme. The programme go through the following way. First day of 11th December is for the teachers training. We learn form this workshop Science , Math, Art& creativity , Geography

International Women’s Day 2020

In March 2020, SI Poona celebrated International Women’s Day at their monthly meeting. A young couple Mr. Kanad Joag and his partner Ms. Pauline Charriot, were invited, as our special guests for the occasion. The couple is involved in V.C.D.M. or Village Community Development Movement, in the village of Pabal, about 50 kms. from Pune. They are deeply committed to VCDM, which is a farmers’ movement, working for forty years for holistic rural development of this area. The centre is a support house for girls in the age group of five to sixteen years, coming from challenged backgrounds, and besides

Charter Night 2019

  SI Poona members celebrated the 28th anniversary of their Charter with  family and friends on 7th April 2019 at the Rajendra Singhji Institute at Khadki. There was much bonding and camaraderie, and the beautiful lawns of the institute was the perfect setting for this event  

Seminar on Mental Health

SI Poona, conducted a seminar on ‘Enhancing the Mental well being of Women and Girl children’ as part of its Girl Child protection Initiative, by addressing issues of obesity and child sexual abuse. Sexual abuse of children has been on a rise and so is physical violence. Children who are sexually abused experience several mental health issues and this affects their studies or work, if employed. Obesity too, is a silent killer that can cause unwarranted diseases, stress and depression. The speakers were experts in the respective fields. Dr. Jayashree Todkar, renowned bariatric surgeon spoke about the importance of a

NASI meeting at Panchgani

SI Pune hosted the NASI INDIA EC and General ASsemby meetings at Asia Plateau Panchgani. This included the installation of the new NASI team for 2018-20. The venue which is about 100 kms. from Pune was chosen because of its scenic beauty.Nestling in the western hills of India and overlooking the Krishna Valley lies Asia Plateau, a Centre for introspection and dialogue.The meeting was attended by about 50 delegates from Bangalore, Calcutta, Bombay Chembur, Bombay West, North Bombay, Chennai, Chennai Downtown, SI Poona Metro East and of course members of the host club, SI Poona.   Day-1 EC Meeting The

Meeting with our friend Dorothee Schmalz from Freudenstadt, Germany

Dr Dorothee Schmalz, founder president of our Friendship link club of Freudenstadt in Germsny was on a visit to Pune. Si Poona members met her over tea at the residence of their president Ms. Kulsum Abid. There was much camaraderie and a good exchange of project ideas and activities of both clubs.  She was presented with a gift and a club brochure by president Kulsum.    

Charter Night 2018

This year SI Poona celebrated their 27th Charter Anniversary at member Ranjana Taskar’s residence. Her beautiful garden was the perfect setting for an enjoyable evening with all members and their families.

International Literacy Day

Soroptimist International Club of Poona celebrated International Literacy Day in their September meeting. Under their ongoing project ‘Let me Bloom’, scholarship cheques were handed out to fifteen deserving girls, pursuing different branches of study.. Each girl talked briefly on their vision for the future, their dreams and aspirations. Members of SI Pune mentor and advise these girls on the need to pursue job oriented courses. The objective is not only to make them financially independent, but also to help support their families in future.

Celebrating World Environment Day

A special meeting was held in June to celebrate World Environment Day which falls on the 5th,  and we had a special guest for the occasion, Dr. Seema Ghate, a Ph. D in Environmental Botany doing research in plants that minimize indoor pollution. She gave a talk on the  various pollutants we have in our environment, whether our home or workplace, and a simple solution is to grow plants to reduce this problem. An age old belief that plants emit carbon dioxide in the night and hence should not be kept inside the house is a myth. She talked at length on

Advocacy in support of ‘School for Justice’

SI Poona held an Advocacy Programme  on 15th April 2017 jointly with the University Women’s Association, Pune. A presentation   on   the “SCHOOL FOR JUSTICE” was made by Ghazala Shaikh  of  “Free a Girl Movement “ which is supported by Dutch Soroptimists.This is a worldwide initiative which aims to fight against human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors as well as others. The idea of starting a Law School for survivors of forced trafficking was floated by a Soroptimist club in the Netherlands. These girls then would fight their own legal battles and help others of their community. A member

Our 26th Charter Night

Soroptimist International Club of Poona celebrated their 26th annual Charter Night on the evening of Sunday, 9th April 2017, at the PYC Gymkhana. Ms. Lata Krishnan, NASI president, was our special guest for the occasion. She commended SI Poona for the good work they were doing, and all members participated in a wonderful interaction with her, sharing their ideas and views. This was followed by an enjoyable dinner with family and friends of members joining in.    

International Women’s Day

  SI Poona celebrated International Women’s Day along with the staff members of Jagruti, a local NGO run by their senior member Ms. Jayashri Kale.Jagruti helps underprivileged women and girls to stand on their own feet by imparting education, training, financial and medical help whenever needed. Every year SI Poona celebrates this day by felicitating women who have overcome all odds to establish themselves, and Make a Difference. This year they felicitated Ms. Halima Shaikh, a simple woman, who has risen from utter penury to establish a business of her own. She was thrown into poverty and despair by a

World Food Day

World Food Day was celebrated in October with great bonding and camaraderie among the members. They met at a local restaurant for a sumptuous lunch to mark the day, as well as a celebration of the Diwali festival, a few days ahead. It had been earlier decided to also share the celebrations with the less privileged, and all members donated generously for the occasion. The total amount collected was used to buy sweets and savouries for the inmates of a local orphanage, and distributed to them on the occasion of Diwali.

Celebrating International Literacy day and International Peace Day

Soroptimist International Club of Poona celebrated International Literacy Day and the International Day of Peace in their September meeting. Scholarship cheques were awarded to 15 deserving girl students pursuing different branches of study at the college level. The list included one visually impaired girl and one who had an amputated leg due to an accident last year. These cheques were handed out by the chief guest, Ms. Yashashwari, who gave a talk on ‘Raj Yoga for Students’. She explained how mental peace and meditation helps in developing concentration, whether in studies, sports or any other profession. One of our ex-students

Fundraiser for Girl ChildEducation

An audiovisual show on the life and songs of the noted singer of yesteryears, Ms. Geeta Dutt was presented by Mr. Vishwas Kale. It was a nostalgic evening of haunting and ever popular melodies showcased with their film history.  The venue was the University Women’s Association hall, at Pune. The show was highly appreciated by the audience and a substantial   amount was raised for our Education sponsorship project named ‘Let me Bloom’

World Yoga Day

SI Club of Poona celebrated World Yoga Day with a talk by Mr. Bhinde, a Yoga teacher who has been practising Yoga for the past 30 years. He stressed the need to practise Yoga, which can help rid us of several ailments.Young Geeta, who has been learning Yoga since she was ten,demonstrated some simple asanas, particularly for senior citizens, which are not very strenuous and can be done every day.

Our Silver Jubilee Charter Night

A big celebration had been planned to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Charter of Soroptimist International Club of Poona. It was  held on 7th April 2016 at the ‘Classic Rock Coffee Company’ at Kalyani Nagar. All members with their families and also all ex-members were invited to attend. NASI past president, Ms. Annette Mascaranhas, president Ms. Sreelata Narayanan and president elect Ms Lata Krishnan were the special invitees. Ms. Nalini Gera, noted social worker of Pune, who had graced the Charter ceremony 25 years back was the chief guest. After a brief presentation of the activities and achievements of

Meeting our friends from Enniskillen

Lorna and Sue from Enniskillen were visiting the Sangam Centre for Girl Guides in Pune. They got in touch and SI Poona members met them for dinner at the Boat Club.

Celebrating Women’s Day with our friends from Perth, Scotland

In 2016 SI Poona  celebrated International Women’s Day with members of their Friendship link club of Perth in Scotland.This year they had decided to  felicitate two of their own scholarship awardees, Pratibha Avasekar and Sapana Tandale. These two girls despite being visually challenged, had done their post graduation and B.Ed courses and are determined to face life against all odds. They are two extremely confident and motivated young women, who appeared for the Probationary Officers’ examination and secured jobs for themselves in two leading nationalized banks in the country. The guests as well as all SI Poona members were totally

SI Poona hosts National meet

  SI Pune organised the National (NASI) EC and AGM on 25th and 26th June 2016, which was well attended by members from other clubs all over India

World Environment Day

To mark the World Environment Day – 5th June, Tree planting was done by SI Poona members at Queen Mary’s Technical Institute on 30th June. In addition, on 15th June, a talk on Herbal Plants was delivered by Ms. Poorva Joshi to SI Poona. Poorva, owner of Bio Concepts, Pune – a firm working in Projects, Consulting and Training in plant conservation and sustainable development, is an energetic young woman, extremely passionate about Environmental Awareness and Education. Her talk was on the vast variety of medicinal plants and herbs available in our country and the urgent need to conserve them.