Gerry Godwin (a Soroptimist in the Kingston upon Thames club) was guest speaker at SI South Lancashire’s autumn Programme Action Meeting. Gerry is SI Southern England’s regional ambassador for SIGBI’s Birthing in the Gambia (BIG) Project. A qualified nurse and midwife who has travelled in Africa – including Gambia – to observe midwifery practices, Gerry gave a personal perspective on conditions for pregnant women and their babies. She was also able to update members on the impact that Soroptimists’ funding has made through the BIG Project. Gerry quoted facts and figures on the dire situation for women and babies – maternal mortality, child death under 5, cultural restrictions, labour ward equipment and the sheer logistics of travelling in a country with an inadequate transport infrastructure and a huge river at its heart. The BIG project highlights these problems. The BIG Project is, however, making a difference. It allows

Skydiving Soroptimists Victoria Smerdon (SI Widnes, regional President Elect) and Margaret Baker (SI Bolton, regional Vice President) have handed over their sponsorship cheque. Together they raised £2,191.34 for the North West Air Ambulance. Delighted with their own achievement – skydiving from 15,000 feet – they were nevertheless quick to thank their fellow Soroptimists in South Lancashire. A huge amount of sponsorship came from members of local clubs throughout the region. The cheque presentation took place alongside one of the charity’s bright yellow helicopters. The North West Air Ambulance needs over £4million annually to maintain its two aircraft in readiness 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So Margaret and Victoria are delighted to have been able to help, just a little, to keep this life-saving service going.  

The final of the SI South Lancashire bowls competition was once again full of incident, suspense and laughter. Four teams of Soroptimists had qualified for the final – SI Widnes, SI Southport, SI Leigh & District and SI Crosby. The teams’ knockout rounds needed a play-off before Crosby and Southport went through for the head-to-head. Finally, after six closely-watched games Crosby had scored more points, and so won the President’s Rose Bowl for the second year in succession. Meanwhile, the individuals’ competition saw a series of exciting qualifying games. The final three-way decider between Radha Narayana and Angela Rowles (Widnes) and Rosemary Moore (Southport) was tense, with Rosemary eventually winning the Tricia Fahey Cup. This commemorates Tricia of SI Crosby who, when regional president, devised the regional bowls competition. The weather – blustery and cool at the outset – turned very unpleasant, with squally showers

Two Soroptimists from South Lancashire Region recently completed a sponsored skydive. Victoria Smerdon (SI Widnes, regional President Elect) and Margaret Baker (SI Bolton, regional Vice President) took to the skies to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance. Margaret said, “At 15,000 feet the Earth is a beautiful place, and the inside of a perfectly good aeroplane is a sensible place from which to view it. The plane will turn soon and return safely, descending slowly and gracefully to the runway so far below. So to sit back and enjoy it would be a very good idea … Then again, one could open the door and jump out; freefall 10,000 feet at 125 mph and open a parachute at 5,000 feet to float gently down to the ground.” “How does one describe that? The instant of falling from the plane, the point of no

Yvonne Gibbon, Regional Ambassador for ‘Birthing in the Gambia’ (The BIG Project), recently gave her first presentation. Invited by Southport’s Soroptimists, Yvonne talked about the project, its achievements so far and its future direction. This is a three year fundraising challenge which will save the lives of countless critically ill women, babies and children in the Gambia. SI Southport handed over a cheque for £250, from ticket sales for the evening. A further £138 was raised as members took it in turns to guess the ‘date of birth’ of Mariama, Yvonne’s travelling ‘baby’. Yvonne said, “I enjoyed a wonderful buffet provided by the members of SI Southport’s Programme Action team. A very big thank you to everyone for their hospitality and generosity. This evening’s donation equates to one month’s operating costs of an emergency ambulance in the Gambia – or 16 emergency medical packs for Traditional Birth

The packed agenda for June’s Regional Programme Action Meeting opened with a presentation by Clare Jones, Deputy Director and Joint Chief Executive of WomenCentre. This charity is based in the Halifax and Huddersfield areas of Yorkshire. It promotes holistic, one-stop-shop services for women in vulnerable situations. Many of the women have multiple needs related to domestic violence, housing, relationships, mental and physical health, education, and poor life skills. There may also be drug-related problems or issues arising through the criminal justice system. The WomenCentre baseline is to treat all the women with respect. Workers listen, counsel and guide their clients to build up self-confidence and self-esteem, helping them to believe in their own potential. At their own pace the women develop skills that enable them to take greater control of their own lives, plus improve safety and wellbeing for their children. The women grow in confidence and may eventually re-enter

Soroptimists from South Lancashire featured at the Prison Reform Trust’s (PRT) ‘Talking Justice’ campaign reception in Manchester Town Hall. President Liz McConnell and colleagues set up a publicity stall, which attracted a large number of visitors and resulted in some effective networking. The occasion was the PRT’s launch of its two latest publications for the public. In partnership with the University of the Third Age (U3A) and Pact (the Prison Advice and Care Trust) ‘Where Do You Stand’ and ‘What Can I Do?’ are designed to inform debate about the penal system, and to promote a wide range of volunteering opportunities. Soroptimists in the UK are already working on a campaign with the PRT to to put a stop to any unnecessary imprisonment of women. There is considerable evidence about the numbers of vulnerable women ending up in the UK’s prisons despite posing no risk to

Take 140 Soroptimists, a packed programme, plus the opportunity for lively conversation – and what to you have? The 76th Joint Regional Conference, 2013. [new_royalslider id=”2″]Soroptimists from all over the North West gathered at the Preston Marriott Hotel for the event, which was organised jointly by South Lancashire Region and N.W.England & Isle of Man Region. The conference theme was ‘Opening Minds: to Educate, Empower and Enable’. Federation President Pat Black opened the day by asking delegates to turn the Soroptimist vision into action by setting realistic goals linked to those ‘3 Es’  – and to achieve those goals through time-honoured Awareness, Advocacy and Action. President Pat reminded delegates of her year-long challenge – each Soroptimist to educate herself, plus provide an opportunity for another women or girl to be educated. Challenge in a different form came from the next presentation, on the subject of

Soroptimists from all over South Lancashire attended a lunch in Stockport to celebrate Liz McConnell’s current year as Regional President. To surprise their hard-working colleague, the Stockport club members – who organised the event – kept many of the details ‘under wraps’. Special guest was Tony Howell, Professor of Medical Oncology, formerly of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Unit, and currently at the Genesis Prevention Centre, both in Manchester. Under successive club presidents Myra Woodcock and Susan Wagstaff, SI Stockport has had a two-year drive to raise funds for Professor Howell’s research. This massive effort – plus the proceeds from President Liz’s ‘women-centred’ regional Burns Supper – raised £6,000. Accepting the cheque, Professor Howell promised that the funds will go direct to the breast cancer research unit at The Christie Hospital, Manchester. Current work there is focussing on a new generation of preventative and therapeutic drugs that will,

The speaker at the March 2013 Regional Programme Action Meeting was Detective Chief Inspector Debbie Dooley from the Serious Sexual Offences Unit, Rochdale (Greater Manchester Police). She explained how these crimes are now investigated in Greater Manchester. Historically they were investigated at a local police station by whichever officer was on duty at the time. Now a 2-hub model is used with bases in Rochdale (north) and Manchester (city centre / south). All officers working at these units have applied to work specifically in this field. This is felt to be more supportive for victims of sexual crime, as well as being a better use of resources. When a crime is reported it is immediately graded as to seriousness. The officers then take a threefold approach – the victim, the scene and the suspect. A number of historical crimes are also now being reported and investigated. In conclusion