Meeting!!!
November
25th
2008

Tuesday
 

 SCOUP

November, 2008

Soroptimist International of the Americas, a volunteer organization for business and professional women working to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world, is participating in Soroptimist International’s December 10th Appeal, also known as the President’s Appeal, to help women with obstetric fistula.

Each year on December 10th (United Nations’ Human Rights Day), the Soroptimist International president asks all Soroptimists worldwide to contribute to a project that helps women living in extreme poverty. This year’s appeal, Restoring Dignity: Hamlin Fistula Relief and Aid Fund, will support Ethiopian women with this debilitating condition.

Obstetric fistula occurs as a result of several days of obstructed labor without timely medical
intervention, usually a Caesarean section. The constant pressure of the baby’s head in the birth canal causes a fistula (hole) to form between the bladder and the vagina, and/or between the rectum and the vagina. The baby usually dies and the mother is left with urine and waste leaking from her body.

“Sadly, in Ethiopia, an obstetric fistula can be worse than death,” said Leigh Wintz, executive director of Soroptimist International of the Americas in Philadelphia. “The smell of constantly leaking body fluids results in young women, many of them girls, being rejected and outcast by their community. They are doomed to a life of shame and isolation. This is why our December 10th Appeal is so critical in helping women with this condition.”

An estimated 8,000 to 9,000 women in Ethiopia suffer with obstetric fistula each year and don’t have the money for fistula repair or the access to medical care that most women in developed nations have. At least 93 percent of fistulas can be repaired, but three percent are so badly damaged in childbirth, they cannot be healed.

Funds from the December 10th Appeal will help women who cannot be fully cured by providing ongoing medical care at the Desta Mender Village of the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition, the self-help rural village provides skills and vocational training to the women, encourages their independence and helps improve their morale and self-esteem.

SIA is pleased to announce Soroptimists STOP Trafficking, a new public awareness project addressing the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation. This new project will provide information cards about sexual trafficking for participating clubs to distribute in the community. In addition, clubs will work to raise awareness through media and public events. The project has been created in response to overwhelming input from clubs and members indicating a desire for an SIA project that addresses this serious global issue.
The project will launch in the United States on Friday, January 11, 2008, the first National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. The launch will begin with a public event at which clubs are asked to distribute specially designed flyers in transportation centers in their area: airports, train stations or bus depots. The event will focus on the public awareness message: "Someone in this transportation center may be here against her will," and will provide an excellent opportunity for public awareness and to gain media exposure.
Participating clubs will be provided with professionally designed cards and flyers; club instructions for the project and launch event; and public awareness materials to ensure the project is a success. The materials will be available in all SIA languages. If your club would like to participate or has any questions, contact siahq@soroptimist.org

Project SIerra: A Family And A Future aims to raise £1 million ($2million USD) to help disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone face their futures with confidence.

BBy strengthening families at risk of breakdown, helping young children living on the streets return home and empowering vulnerable young mothers, Project SIerra will enable more children to grow up in a caring family environment - giving them the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

To learn how Project SIerra will achieve this, visit the Project Overview section.

Soroptimist's Disaster Relief Fund for Women and Girls targets the special needs of women and girls during natural and man-made disasters. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable during disasters and lack access to resources. They also have special abilities to respond to disasters, which is often overlooked. Soroptimist's disaster relief program mitigates the barriers facing women/girls during disasters. In addition, the program honors the commitments made by the United Nations in the Beijing Platform for Action and the Outcome Statement of the 46th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women. Soroptimist grants funds to local clubs for use in communities needing disaster relief. Funds are pooled from voluntary contributions sent in from Soroptimist members throughout the world. Soroptimist recently disbursed disaster relief grants to: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to support Iraqi educational programs for returning women refugees; the Ramona, California, Soroptimist club to help women recovering from the fires in Southern California; and women in El Chaco, Ecuador, to help rebuild the community's farming infrastructure following an earthquake.