Soroptimist International President’s Appeals
Every two years, on Human Rights Day (December 10) the incoming President of Soroptimist International selects a project that provides direct assistance to women in extreme need. This appeal is called the SI President’s Appeal (also International President’s Appeal), and is supported by Clubs in all five Federations.
SI Woking & District donated £202 to the appeal in December 2022
2021-23 – Soroptimist International President’s Appeal ‘Opening Doors to a Bright Future’
SI President Maureen Maguire’s appeal “Opening Doors to a Bright Future” supports projects that meet UN Sustainable Development Goal 4:
‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality and education, and promote lifelong opportunities for all’
Education can help to tackle the many barriers faced by women and girls today. But education is not only essential for women and girls as individuals. Education of women and girls plays a huge role in sustainable development and for, human rights and equality in general across the world.
There are plans to establish Appeal projects in each of the five Soroptimist Federations. Three projects are already underway in Cambodia, Uganda, and Georgia.
In the first project, Soroptimist International works with partner Cambodian Community Dream Organisation (CCDO). CCDO is a small NGO that aims to improve conditions in villages surrounding Siem Reap, Cambodia. Women from the three districts are trained to be financially independent. Then they can be role models for others. Their families and broader communities will benefit from their knowledge and experience.
In a second project (started early 2022), the SI partner is Rose Academies in the Soroti District of Eastern Uganda. Rose academies is delivering a comprehensive education programme. It aims to support and inspire 30 girls, aged 8-13 and living across Soroti District.
In early October 2022, SI began working with World Vision Georgia on a third Appeal project. The project seeks to support young women and girls to become self-sufficient and empowered. Long-term, this will make it easier for them to find work and take advantage of the life opportunities they will have.
And the fourth project is now taking shape. Soroptimist International will partner with Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC). RSC is a non-profit organization that does some work related to developing and supporting technology clubs in schools, tertiary institutions and communities throughout the Caribbean. The aim is to equip students to use common digital knowledge. Individually they will achieve more with support from the greater digital community.
2019-21 – The Road to Equality
The aim of this campaign is to bring real change and eliminate FGM for good. Soroptimist International worked with the highly influential Global Media Campaign (GMC) to End FGM. Together, they created The Road to Equality campaign to support the Soroptimist Six. They chose six determined women activists who worked to put an end to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in their countries.
In Africa, Global Media Campaign worked with local activists to mobilise people in their communities. The six women helped communities to get funds to support their work to end FGM and violence against women and girls. GMC used its academies to train and empower FGM advocates. After training in the use of the latest technologies, the advocates were more effective at increasing awareness of how FGM destroys lives. GMC also held national events for survivors, activists, leaders, and journalists to raise further awareness about the harmful effects of FGM.
What do Woking Soroptimists do for the International President’s campaigns?
In December 2021 we donated £125 to the ‘Opening Doors to a Bright Future’ campaign.
We donated a total of £335 to the 2019-2021 ‘Road to Equality’ campaign.
Find out more about what we do on the Club News Page.