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 giving them basic necessities, they are also sent to school. The girls are also taught several other activities like farming, household chores, and various crafts made from natural fibres and materials, which are also sold and well appreciated. SI Poona members expressed their interest in

  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  

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 healthy lifestyle to prevent obesity, while Dr.Jyothi Shetty, professor and head of Department of Psychiatry, gave an overview of the definition of child sexual abuse, and its long term implications.The audience, numbering above 100, and consisting of teachers, students and members of non profit organizations

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.    

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.

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.

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 plants which are beneficial if we keep them not only in our drawing and bedrooms, but even in our kitchen and toilets. She had brought along a few of these varieties which are beneficial if grown indoors for demonstration. Many of them can also grow

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 of SI Pune was informed about it by our UK Link in Kings Lynn.Ghazala Sheikh and her colleague Francis Gracias presented this programme in Pune. They spoke about the proposed School for Justice which will start with 7 girls who have been rescued from the

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.