Friendship Links


wish for from all over the world, that is what membership of SI means to me. I always say to new members: ‘You now have 90,000 new best friends’, which is the best member benefit of any organisation. Liz Morgan-Lewis, President, SIGBI


Nurturing growth through friendship SIGBI club SI Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead (SWM), in England, has had a link with SI Banjul for the last 24 years, starting when a member stayed with her sister who lived there, and assisted with founding the club. Jackie Paling, a club member and now


Assistant Programme Director, Human Rights and the Status of Women, reports, “Since then, SWM has supported Gambian projects, the most recent raising money for SI Banjul’s Women’s Market Garden Project, which supports women farmers in the south of the country. 16 villages are sustained by the produce


Renewing old friendships SIGBI club SI Birkenhead was celebrating its 70th Anniversary and, in its archives, discovered that a club member, as Federation President had chartered the first SI club in Africa in Port Elizabeth, and that there had been a Friendship Link established at that time. Cherry Povall reports: “We contacted the club and asked whether they were interested in renewing the link. They were! For our first visit, eight members went out to Africa taking blankets and children’s clothes. We had asked what we could bring that would most useful. Knitting sessions were organised with all the members, even the uninitiated, taking part and we produced the blankets! These were to be used for the patients in


from three farms. The local Community Development Council provides the land and it is divided according to the size of the families using it. Crops are grown by the women to feed the villagers and to sell on, and members of SI Banjul have used their own expertise in assisting with marketing the produce. One of the main problems is the


destruction of their crops by cattle wandering into the fields and trampling on them. To counteract this they need to build fencing. Normal fencing is expensive and high maintenance, whereas living fence of natural material such as saplings close planted is not only cheap, but relatively easy to maintain and eco-friendly. SI Slough Windsor and Maidenhead raised UK£3000 towards this. Although they do not have a Friendship Link, SI Cardiff have also raised a great deal of money for these fences. Two SWM members made separate trips


to The Gambia and their hostesses ensured not only that they had a good time but also made sure that they were able to see the market garden project in action. Farmers Mma Ba and Mma Yassi proudly


showed off the plump okra that they were picking and the vistors saw that the living fences are doing their job.”


TIS March 2011 Page 8 the Aids haven.


I have met some of the most wonderful women and made the best friends I could ever


Sadness and international co-operation After Maureen Eykelenboom, a member of SI Upper Hutt in New Zealand, started her ‘Boomer Cap’ project in memory of her medic son who had been killed in Afghanistan, news that warm clothes were needed by women and children in Afghanistan prompted the club to organise a national project.


New Zealand and were to be distributed to Kabul as charitable freight on a New Zealand Army aircraft. Unfortunately, a change in army policy led to that project being aborted, but with tons of clothes that could be useful somewhere, SI Upper Hutt set about finding other recipients. Very soon arrangements had been made


and baby clothes and blankets made their way to SI Ulaanbatour in Mongolia for the Lotus Orphanage Centre and Shelter house for Women. Another club, SI Darkhan supplies blankets and warm clothing for orphanages and families in their area. The cost of postage of these items is high but in the Soroptimist spirit of co-operation, another New Zealand club, SI New Plymouth helped out with NZ$150 towards the costs. SI Hutt told their Friendship Link, SI Cardigan in Wales and they are now knitting items to provide even more items for the ongoing project.


Goats, chickens and friendships Six members of SI Kyoto-Toka, Japan visited Malaysia, as part of their 15th Anniversary programme, to launch a joint goat rearing project with their Friendship Link club, SI Bangsar. After warm hospitality and the exchange


of gifts, the Japanese visitors were shown the new goat sheds that the recipients had built, alongside the chicken houses that had previously been provided by SI Bangsar. The goats were handed over to the various families and celebrations continued. The Japanese Soroptimists have vowed to return to see how the goats and their families are getting along and also to see more of their Malaysian sisters.


Knitted garments arrived from all over


Soroptimists, although few in number, had numerous projects needing help and we offered our support. We also set up a bursary of UK£100 per year to be paid in perpetuity to help them in the recruitment of more Soroptimists. SI Birkenhead sent 10 sewing machines in


When we arrived in Port Elizabeth, the


the following year and this led to helping the Women’s Refuge set up projects to help their clients back into work. The sewing machines are still going strong and have helped hundreds of women. We returned every year. The number of


strength and I’m sure will continue for many more years.”


projects have increased and now cover a wide spectrum of support for women and children. Our friendship has gone from strength to


My Soroptimist friends care unconditionally - they respect and love me despite, or even because of, my foibles. They are there to celebrate my successes and to stand by me during times that present me with challenges and pain. They allow me to support them in the same way. It is my privilege to have such friends.Yvonne Simpson, President, SISWP


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