On 2 February 2009, 8 Soroptimists from the entire SI world were scheduled to leave Heathrow for the SI Project SIerra Study Tour in Sierra Leone….but…sadly they were stranded in the snow for a few days. We are patiently waiting for stories, which will be posted the moment they arrive- here is [Sandra’s excerpt from the] “pre tour” story to whet your appetite:

“Some information about Sierra Leone: Population – 6,005,250. Land area – 71,620 sq.km (not sure how much that is in corresponding area in Australia) SL emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002 with the help of Britain and a large UN peacekeeping mission. More than 17,000 foregn troops disarmed tens of thousands of rebels and militia fighters.

A lasting feature of the war, which left some 50,000 dead, was the atrocities committed by the rebels, whose trademark was to hack off the hands of their victims. A UN-backed war crimes court has been set up to try those, from both sides, who were involved in the brutalities. The problems of poverty, tribal rivaly and official corruption that caused the war remain. There are 70,000 former combatants who have been disarmed and rehabilitated have swollen the ranks of the young people seeking employment.

SL has the lowest average income in the world and is the worst nation for childbirth in the world having the highest maternal mortality ratio, or risks of maternal death of any country. This is due to obstetric situations such as haemorrhage, obstructed labour, etc, caused by disruption to the health services by the rebellion. Official corruption is rife.

This is a very basic outline of the situation in Sierra Leone. Next time I will be able to tell you more about our partners Hope and Homes for Children and Helo a Needy Child International -HANCI and what we are trying to achieve with SI Project SIerra.“

Read the whole story on the SI Programme blog »

Soroptimist International Quadrennial Project (2007-2011), Project SIerra: a Family and a Future, was launched at Convention in July 2007. The project supports women caring for children in extreme poverty and provides a caring secure family home for children who are alone or at risk of abandonment. The project location is Sierra Leone, West Africa. Our project partner is Hope and Homes for Children. Read more on the Project SIerra website [www.projectsierra.org] »

Soroptimist International headquarters has released their report on the UN DPI/NGO Conference at UNESCO in Paris September 2008. Its theme was reflecting the fact that the Declaration was signed 60 years ago and despite this, Human Rights are often not observed by many governments and women are still struggling for their rights.

Some highlights are below, as compiled by the Margaret Cook, SI Assistant Programme Director, were shared in a report, which was shared on the SI blog:

There were 537 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from 74 countries registered and SI was represented by President Margaret and Assistant Pprogram Director, Margaret Cook, as well as Dominique Mertz, Marie Christine Gries and Yseult Kaplan, three of our UN Representatives at UNESCO. With us were three young, self-funded Soroptimists: Maggie Memmott, Shireen Lackey and Gina Oliveri. They were able to attend because NGO’s had been encouraged to seek participants under 30 years of age (for which they qualified) – a really good move – which allowed us to have a larger delegation. Yes there were three Margarets!

The many workshops reflected how groups defend human rights and work to establish them- especially in the lives of girls and women. President Margaret observed that “to be in the conference room lined with portraits of members of the Committee who drafted the first Declaration of Human Rights was a great honour! The first chairperson of this Commission was Eleanor Roosevelt who played an instrumental role in the drafting. At a time of increasing East West tension Mrs. Roosevelt used her enormous prestige and credibility with both superpowers to steer the process towards its successful completion.”

Education and empowerment were the words that Maggie Memmott felt were central to many of the speeches and discussions. Her recommendation for action by Soroptimists is to educate and be educated! She attended a workshop ‘Dreams In Action, the Millennium Development Goals Realized: How to Design Human Rights Issues into the Classroom Curriculum to Inspire Leadership, Creativity and Social Justice’ which illustrated the necessity of education and empowerment. She says: “The speaker described a school in a very impoverished area of South Los Angeles who were taught core subjects using the Millennium Development Goals as a framework. Junior high students are encouraged to make a difference for others today no matter how little they have themselves. Students and parents are empowered by experience of volunteerism and giving in their local community as well as even poorer villages and more disadvantaged students in Honduras. The curriculum is available free from www.dreamprojectun.org.”

NGOs have a great role to play, being on the ground, observers of any sign of tension and able to alert institutions if there is a risk of resurgence or emergence of a conflict. We observed that ’Reaffirming Human Rights’ is:

• to defend the Universality of the Declaration
• to affirm the indivisibility of the principles in the Declaration
• to educate people on Human Rights, young and adults, particularly the poorest
• being without illusion about learning from history- history does not mean progress
• being aware that peace needs to be constructed- it is not inscribed in human genes
• to reflect on new emerging Human Rights to be defined and defended (rights to resources, to welfare, right of nature itself…)
• to reflect on the duties of mankind- developing a Declaration of Human Duties?

Yseult Kaplan asks ‘What do I retain from this Conference?’. Words that have struck me were challenge, citizen, indifference, dignity, universality, fear, words. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been reaffirmed and has to become reality as it is not more difficult to defend now than it was 60 years ago, despite the impact of its violations and legislative texts against it. The ultimate object of the debates was also to extend a challenge to Civil Society and its capacity to structure itself to defend the Human Rights. It is civil society who has the rights and it is up to it to maintain its rights.

There was regret that the event has not received the attention and information which it deserved on the part of the media. The forecourt of the Paris Town hall was closed instead of being a forum for discussion of the state of Human Rights. One has to say ‘NO’ to indifference and let the principles announced in the Universal Human Rights Declaration enter into daily reality of all citizens of this planet.

Dignity, cornerstone of the Human Rights, will be real when all its standards are applied. Debates on the achievements of Human Rights in situations of insecurity, of violence and conflicts have highlighted the depth of ethical principles scorned and the observation of a series of crises utilised to limit Human Rights in the world. One has to concentrate not only on the victims but also on the aggressors. The issue of Human Rights must be revisited under the aspect of universality and of the critical consequences of globalisation. “The fight is ahead of us, not behind us” Stephane Hessel confirmed. He was one of the original team who drafted the document 60 years ago. Now in his nineties he spoke without notes and with a strength of purpose.

To conclude I would refer to the keynote remarks of Ingrid Betancourt.  What has struck her and attracts her attention in the world that she finds after her release after 6 years of captivity? It’s the appearance of insidious fear, fear of fear, fear of others, fear of other cultures, and also fear of being wrongly judged, this last one often preventing us from going to the end of our thoughts. One has to have the courage to say the truth, she confirms, and one has to insist on the importance of the word and the fact to be able to express oneself with the purpose of promotion and protection of Human Rights.

There is one thing certain- Soroptimists cannot and must not rest. Their awareness raising, advocacy and action is needed in the field of human rights.

Congratulations to our very own Shirley McCoy, SI of Dundas, Ancaster, Flamborough, Ontario and also to Sumie Ito, SI of Tsukuba, Japan; Raquel Arreola Ruiz, SI of La Mesa, Mexico; Linabelle Villarica, SI of Meycauyan, Philippines; Tazuko Tanaka, SI of Kyoto, Japan; and Patricia Donohue, SI of Watsonville, California. These women have been elected as members of the Soroptimist International of the Americas Board of Directors and will assume that office on September 1, 2009, and will serve in that position through August 31, 2011.

Once again, Soroptimist is a Global Member of the Global Summit of Women. This year’s summit will be held in Santiago, Chile, May 14-16. Soroptimist members can receive a 5 percent discount on registration. This upcoming global gathering focuses on the new leadership models that women bring to political and business leadership in the 21st century. Consider attending this important and informative meeting of business and professional women from around the world.