Members of SI Salisbury added their voice to the international call to ‘Break the Bias’ on International Women’s Day this year. Members of the Club celebrated the date at a special Club dinner in their usual meeting place, the Red Lion. Members join with Soroptimists worldwide to celebrate women’s achievement and raising awareness against bias. Our work also takes action for equality and makes a positive difference for women.
At our monthly meeting in February we were joined by two members of our Friendship Link Club, SI Chisinau, Moldova by Zoom link. Club President Stela and member Lucia (pictured above) told us how members are working tirelessly to support and help refugees from the Ukraine flooding over the border into their country. They told us that some 700,000 Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, are already in Moldova and are being looked after in churches, summer camps, exhibition centres and some in family homes. About 30, 000 refugees had crossed Moldova into Romania but many more were arriving daily. Club members had supported the families with blankets, hygiene kits, children’s clothes and toys.
Other Clubs in Europe had asked how they could help to support the Moldovan Clubs’ efforts too. The following day, 1 March (the traditional start of spring in Moldova) members were intending to visit the Metro centre to take the traditional ‘Martisor’ decorations plus cookies to bring the families some cheer and to ‘make them smile’. President Stela said: “This is not a project or a planned activity, we are just responding to what is happening now. We are trying to stay calm and not to be too emotional.”
We asked how we could help, and it was agreed that if we sent funds to the Club they could use the money to buy new items from local shops which would also help the local economy. An impromptu collection began and SI Salisbury members have sent a donation of £3,000 in funds in the last few days to help their Friendship Link Club in this humanitarian work. We wish them well and are keeping them close in our thoughts.
Photos below: the Club celebrating International Women’s Day at a dinner in the Red Lion in Salisbury
