On Monday 14 Sep Sophie Jewsbury visited our Club to tell us about the adventure that she will be embarking upon at the end of the month.
Sophie will be volunteering for three months in partnership with the charity VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas). She will be working on development projects in the town of Nanyuki in Kenya, which will focus on securing the livelihoods of women, young people and the disabled.
Follow Sophie’s adventures on her Blog here: https://threemonthsinnanyuki.wordpress.com/
VSO seeks to place its volunteers in communities around the world where the need is greatest, with the aim to finding long-term solutions to extreme poverty. VSO has managed long-running projects in Kenya, so the programme will be geared to making a lasting impact in Nanyuki. More information about VSO’s work in Kenya can be found here: www.vsojitolee.org/about/what-we-do
Sophie applied for the programme after finishing her degree at Durham University (she attained a first in history!) as a way to develop her interests in charity and international development. VSO ask volunteers to fundraise £800 before departure. The money raised does not go towards the costs of the trip, because this is covered by the government organisation ICS (International Citizen Service) www.volunteerics.org 100% of donations go directly to the charity VSO so they can continue with their work. Sophie has a JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/sophiejewsbury/
Sophie realised that the work she would be doing aligned well with Soroptimist projects in the areas of food security, healthcare and learning opportunities and was keen to find out about SI St Albans’s existing work in Meru Kenya
Sophie came to the Club armed with home-baked cakes to aid her fundraising efforts. The Club donated £25 and individual Members bought cakes and gave an additional £51.70 on the night – making a fantastic grand total of £76.70
Sophie sent an email: “Thank you ever so much to everyone at the club for their generosity! It’s a huge help to my fundraising. It was so lovely to meet everyone, and I really enjoyed learning more about the Soroptimists. I look forward to meeting everyone again when I get back! I hope to start a blog about the trip, so will pass on the URL to you soon.”
We wish Sophie every good wish with her adventure and for her future career – she embodies the Soroptimist strap-line “women inspiring action transforming lives”. Follow Sophie on her Blog here: https://threemonthsinnanyuki.wordpress.com/