The 9th lean lunch was held in Whiteley, Fareham this Saturday. It was originally set up by 6 local Soroptimist clubs to promote the International quadrennial project – first Project Independence then SIerra. This time members from Southampton, Winchester and Chichester, as well as regional President Rita from Reigate, joined Gosport and Fareham club for the event. Any money surplus will be sent to Mamelodi House, for AIDS orphans in South Africa.
There were 3 speeches after the ‘lean’ lunch of bread and cheese with fruit and coffee.
Christine Wilkes spoke first about the club’s project to put bookmarks into secondary schools, showing on one side the characteristics of a loving relationship and on the other the indicators of abuse. The sides are labelled: Loves me…, Loves me not.
Tracy Gardiner then talked about the Bee Plus project that had been developed by the SI Virtual One (pilot) club that Gosport and Fareham took up on behalf of Oak Meadow school. The children took part in various activities, tied in to different parts of the curriculum: art, science, cooking and gardening. Bee Plus will continue in 2012, although without the sponsorship from Rowse Honey Ltd. Details can be found at http://www.phoenixv2.co.uk/
Carol Elliott from the Alzheimer’s Society spoke about the support available to sufferers, through such as the memory cafes in the local area. She made a point of adding her personal thanks to the people who worked on the club’s quilt, that generated the money donated to the society. She showed scans from a healthy brain and from one diagnosed with dementia to show the difference in activity. When memory becomes an everyday problem, causing distress and confusion, then it’s time to get assessed by your GP – which may take some time to positively confirm diagnosis. Music has been proved to tap into the emotional memory – who doesn’t remember their first love song? It can encourage happiness and more activity when what you lose in dementia is control. Singing has therefore been used as a good therapy, which seems to engage even those whose dementia is more advanced. The local singing groups have really made a positive impact, on all who attend.
