Mental health
Physical health is known to be a key part of international development as it lays the foundation for people to lead full lives. Without good health it is harder to attend school, be productive at work or be active in your community. Even though health is more than just physical health, for years many critical mental health issues and wellbeing were not properly considered in international development. In this blog, SI UN Representative Angelina Akhvlediani examines how the new global Sustainable Development Goals might change this and why this is important for women and girls.
Chennai floods
Chennai airport, 1 December 2015 recorded the highest rainfall in the city of Chennai - a one hundred year record was demolished. Climate change – a global concern - became a rude reality in a matter of hours for this city of 8.2 million. By 1 December in the afternoon, the water in Chembarambakkam Reservoir - 25 km from the city, had swollen to a dangerously full capacity. Water was released into the Adyar River already in spate. This river flowing through the heart of the city crossed its banks and submerged all surrounding areas.
CSW59
"CSW59 was a huge success for Soroptimist International. The dedicated and proactive delegation of around 100 Soroptimists from across the globe were able to advocate for women and girls and their hard work paid off. The international nature of the delegation meant that SI was able to bring a variety of united perspectives which promoted SI’s advocacy work that is based on the grassroots project works done by Soroptimists clubs everywhere.
A LESSON IN HUMILITY - WOMEN SHAPING A NEW GENERATION
"At Phulgaon and Tulapur, villages, SI Pune Metro East (SIPME) has run a medical outreach project for several years now. It has become a centre for the village women to meet the Soroptimist doctor, not only for medical problems but for just about every other issue that they encounter. In the course of this rapport the Soroptimists have been able empower the women with a new progressive outlook.
Meet two women who are not achievers by any measure. They will not figure in success story reports. Literacy has by passed them, poverty has been at their doorsteps their lives are of struggle, deprivation and often hopelessness. But they have braved all odds to change the course of their daughters’ lives. Their sacrifices have secured the future of the girls.
PROJECTS OF EXCELLENCE: GIRLS MOVING FORWARD (INDIA)
As a new Club, SI Pune Metro East (SIPME) was brimming with enthusiasm, to go out there into the community and connect with young girls. This was in June 2010, six months after our Charter. As a Founder President I wanted to harness that excitement towards a project that would involve skills of a lot of members.
On the other side was a yearning need to reach out to young girls in the community all of who were probably going to high school, college or were school dropouts. There were these huge blanks in their education that we could fill in a non-formal way. They came from disadvantaged backgrounds and were all first generation learners. Their mothers were mostly domestic maids, working in several homes to eke out a living, their fathers were mostly labourers, farmers with small holdings, part time handymen or petty shopkeepers. Neither parent was educated, or if they were only enough to put their signatures. Their home environment was often full of violence, deprivation and a sense of frustration for the young girls.
TSUNAMIKA - A LIVING SYMBOL OF RESILIENCE
A living symbol
by Manoj
She is a symbol, a living symbol with her own life.
As her name suggests, she is a child of tsunami;
The tsunami that changed the lives of millions.
She is the memory of Tsunami..
She has been hand-made by women,
The women who live by the ocean,
The women whose lives changed forever after the tsunami
The women who are exploring a new way of living,
The women who are empowering themselves.
Tsunamika is an expression of their creative fire;
Through Tsunamika they enter a new & wider world.
She is made out of bits and pieces of cloth
Left over from other works;
Made from what is known as waste.
There is nothing called waste in Nature,
Everything has its creative role.
Everything can be living & beautiful,
As Tsunamika is ...
The Tsunamika project began shortly after the Tsunami on the morning of 23rd Dec 2004, which struck the southern coast of India and several South East Asian countries. In India the greatest damage was done to the fishing communities. The men had left early to harvest the oceans and the women busy with their home chores. In front of their meagre dwellings along the coast their children were playing. In one stroke the killer waves wiped out everything. The surviving women folk had lost their boats, their nets, their husbands their children.