Friday 27 November 2009

MALI VISIT of ROSWITHA OTT

MALI VISIT of ROSWITHA OTT, SI/E Project Manager Africa accompanied by six Soroptimists, 5-16 November 2009

Dear All

I am used to write factual reports of my visits to other countries. With Mali it is a bit different. It is a country so full of hospitality and friendliness. So please apologize when my emotions shine through from time to time. For the first time I was travelling with six members of my own Club Bad Ragaz who have helped me a lot during my nine years as Mama Africa. I wanted to show them the results of their work. For me and for them it was a very good experience. It was impressive to see the reactions of the six ladies to the work done in Mali by the Clubs of Mali and by SI/E and by the Club Bad Ragaz itself.

5 November 2009

Arrival in Bamako late at night. We were welcomed by many Soroptimists of the two Clubs Lumière and Espoir and the travelling office Amadou Traore.

6 November 2009

Diffémou

As always in Mali, the first trip goes to the long-term project Diffémou. The children welcomed us with enthusiasm and showed us the school and the new toilets. The very old building was repaired best we could two years ago: a new roof, new benches, new paint on the walls. But it is obvious that Diffémou needs a new schoolhouse with six rooms. Today 300 children go to school in three rooms in two groups, one in the morning, the other one in the afternoon.

The new well and the toilets function very well and are clean. But we were a bit disappointed that the medical centre was not open and the midwife not present.

School of the nuns of Marie Immaculée

Since 2005 many Swiss godmothers finance the 22 girls in the Centre of Marie Immaculée. This project has developed very well. The girls have learnt to read and write and after three years of basic instruction they can start an apprenticeship as tailors. Two of them have finished already and present their diplomas. The next step in this project is the opening of tailor studio called “Salon de l’Espoir Brigitte” where the girls who have finished their training can work as tailors and earn a living. Asked amount for room rent for the first year, 10 machines, tables and the material EUR 3’500.


7 November 2009

A water day in the area of Kati with Club Bamako Espoir

Water projects in Sanankorobougou

The population of Sanankorobougou welcomes us with music and dance. Everybody seams to be happy and so are we. This village has now two new wells financed by members of Club Bad Ragaz and my former students. It is good to see the very stable buildings. The wells are furnished with India-pumps, go down to 23 meters and work well.

Inauguration of the well of Soukoulabougou

What expected us in Soukoulabougou was overwhelming. The local authorities were there, the whole population and of course Mali TV. The well was just wonderful, a new model, in Soroptimist colours! 23 meters deep, well protected and with two water places for the animals. Everybody admired it. It was financed by a couple in my area in the name of their parents who had passed away one year ago. As everybody knew this, the festivity was very solemn and when cutting the ribbon, we begged for the blessing of the dead parents for the village and the water. The contact to the spirit of the ancestors impressed the listening population. For them the ancestors are important because they protect the living.

I left the place with two more projects in the same area, one in Kouloulabougou and a second one in Mountougoulabougou. And of course, it has to be the same model with two water places for the animals and in blue and yellow.

I would like to stop for a moment in my report and thank the Club Bamako Espoir and Aminata Traore for the big development work done during the past two years and the constant contact with me. Without this good communication the three wells would not spend the badly needed water to a population.

8 November 2009

Bla

Welcome by the women of Bla, where Club Liestal has helped after the devastating floods in 2008 with new donkeys, carts and tools by selling tulips from Amsterdam! The four wells in the vegetable garden and the fences were rebuilt by Club Kalmar in Sweden.

Village of Tallo

On the way to Tombouctou, Tallo is an inevitable stop. So many Clubs have worked for the development of Tallo under the guidance of Coumba Dembele Traore, a cityzen of Tallo who has dedicated her life to develop of her hometown. Coumba could not be with us because her husband had passed away. As his widow she has to stay in her house mourning for four month and ten days.

Tallo is a good model of development. It has a primary and a secondary school now, a medical centre, vegetable gardens two wells, a grain silo and a football team. I am convinced that also a football team can be a sign of development.

9-12 November 2009

San, Djenn, Bandiagara, Songo and Mopti

On all my trips in Africa I have not seen so much of the tourist sites of the countries. I usually run from one project to the other. With my six Sorores as company, this was now possible. Mali is a wonderful country with a great history and culture.

13-14 November 2009

On the way to Tombouctou and in Tombouctou

Seven hours drive on a sandy track, arrival on the river Niger and waiting for the ferry in a very poor nomad camp of Bozo fishermen. We finally arrived in Tombouctou at 16.00, where members of the Club Alliance expected us.

For my six accompanying sister the next day was dedicated to see the legendary town of Tombouctou. I myself visited our realized projects and studied new ones.

Club Alliance of Tombouctou was chartered in 2006. In the past three years the Club has become a well known and strong group, working to develop the town and the area.

Aissa Baba Kalil Touré, the founding President, is an important motor. The flier of the Club gives evidence of the manifold projects: a mill for the widows of Tombouctou, 27 girls of poor families put to school, building of a well in the poor nomad camp of Koriomé, a scholarship for Dr. Kadida Bocar to improve her knowledge as a medical doctor, medical equipment for the hospital, operation of ten women suffering from ostetric fistula, distribution of mattresses and mosquito nets to the poor population, and so on.

Of course all this was only possible with the help of SI/E and European Clubs. But the result is impressive.

Two new projects are presented to me: Toilets for Koriomé and water for Toya.

The women of Koriomé welcome me and show me with pride their new well financed by the SI/E Action Fund. Cholera and many other diseases have gone back with the clean water. What is missing in the big camp, are the toilets. Everybody uses the river Niger as toilet and further down people drink the same water. I take the new toilet project with me. Is now in the PEP, and I hope it finds sponsors (EUR 10’000).

Toya is too far away and also too dangerous for me to go there after the kidnapping of the two Swiss people. The Mayor of Toya, Mr. Jehia Konta, comes to see me in Tombouctou and presents a water project for 16’000 people in the area of Toya. It is a project with three partners, the ONG AMADE (Association du Mali pour le développement), Soroptimist International and the village Toya.

After a thorough discussion with my own Club Bad Ragaz, the members decide to finance this project (EUR 10’000). Club Alliance,Timbouctou is responsible for the realisation.

I thank all the Clubs of Mali for their warm hospitality, before all I want to thank the Presidents and Past-Presidents and Adama Sidibé and Aminata Traoré. It was a very fruitful trip, not only for, me but also for all the six Soroptmists accompanying me.



Maienfeld 26.11.09 Roswitha Ott, SI/E Project Manager Africa

Thursday 26 November 2009

Dr. Eliane Lagasse: Inauguration Speech

Dr. Eliane Lagasse: Inauguration Speech from Soroptimist Europe on Vimeo.



Soroptimist International of Europe's New President's Inaugural Speech during the 19th SI/E Congress in Amsterdam, 2009 Eliane Lagasse, next term (from October 1, 2009 to October 1, 2011. )

SI/E President delivers a speech outlining her vision of Soroptimists and the role of the organization in the building of a better world for women and children.

soroptimisteurope.org/en/multimedia/videos.html

webclip by Buzzmedia.net

International Friendship Weekend

Dear Soroptimists,

We will have an International Friendship Weekend in Budapest. Save this date please:

28-30 May, 2010 in Budapest / Hungary

More information can be sent to you late January.

For application please contact:

katalinjuhos@yahoo.com

Start Time:
Friday, 28 May 2010 at 09:00
End Time:
Sunday, 30 May 2010 at 21:00
Location:
Budapest / Hungary

Saturday 21 November 2009

President's message: Dr. Eliane Lagasse

(from www.soroptimistsgoforwater.nl)

Welcome to the ‘Water and Sanitation’ website of SI/ Europe, where you can find information about our water and sanitation related ‘projects and events’.

The Seventh Millenium Development Goal is to halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Soroptimist International, whose mission is to create opportunities to change the life of women and girls, pledge their support to this goal.

An adequate supply of ‘clean water and sanitation for all’ is still an utopian ideal even in our western world. Industrial pollution and inappropriate agriculture are potential sources for problems and conflicts everywhere. Climate change with its hotter growing seasons and increasing water scarcity, is projected to reduce future harvests in much of the world, raising the spectre of a perpetual food crisis.

Health and easy access to health care are a necessity for a good life but one of the primary conditions for a healthy life are access to clean water and sanitation. Every day 30 000 people die of illnesses caused by foul or polluted water, every 8 seconds a child dies of diarrhea or other water related causes. This is totally unacceptable! I am convinced that Soroptimist International can and must make a difference!


I hereby dear ask every Soroptimist of the European Federation, during my presidency, to continue working on water and sanitation projects for the next 2 years. I urge to focus on health related projects. That means lobbying to regulate industrial pollution as well as sewage control or access to clean water and working on projects concerning health care, sanitation, irrigation and water.

This website will keep you updated on Soroptimist and international events, information and projects related to water, health and sanitation.

Would you like to participate in an existing water project or carry out your own idea’s ? The Project Exchange Pool is there for you to join in!

Are you seecking experience or would you like to share your knowledge please indicate your field of interest at the Experience Exchange Pool. It is co-operation where you give your time and professional expertise to help realize and so achieve a sustainable result.

During the International SI Convention in 2011, each Federation will be able to present its realizations. I am convinced that, after 4 years of hard work, we will be able to present excellent results on the Soroptimist go for Water theme!

Warm Soroptimist regards
Eliane Lagasse

Personal Message from Dr. Eliane Lagasse, President of the Federation of Soroptimist International of Europe (SI/E) from October 1, 2009 to October 1, 2011.

President's Theme: WATER

Dr. Eliane Lagasse has chosen water for her SIE President’s theme.

In line with the UN Millennium Development Goal to halve the number of people without safe drinking and basic sanitation by 2015, SI/E President Eliane Lagasse has chosen water as the theme for her term of office 2009-2011.

For more information, please click on the link:
www.soroptimistsgoforwater.nl

Friday 20 November 2009

Four ways to feed the world

Four ways to feed the world - science-in-society - 18 November 2009 - New Scientist

IT IS humanity's oldest enemy. Despite all our science, a sixth of people in the developing world are chronically hungry.

At a summit in Rome this week, world leaders reaffirmed a pledge to end hunger "at the earliest possible date".

1 Hold on to water

2 Stop ploughing

3 Go back to basics

4 Boost yields

Click on above link to read full article!

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Say NO - UNiTE

Soroptimist International is a Launch Partner for this new UNIFEM initiative and on behalf of Programme Director Dawn Marie please find links and information about
Say NO - UNiTE
below:

Building on the momentum of the first phase, Say NO - UNiTE will now shift its focus on showcasing and counting actions online and on the ground, towards ending violence against women and girls.

Whether it is signatures for a petition, participants at an event to raise awareness, or outreach to school children for prevention… every action will count towards a global groundswell of activism on the issue.

UNIFEM have built an interactive web platform where advocates and organizations can build their own web pages and highlight their initiatives. This way, you can reach your national/local audiences and spread the word around the world – linking local and global advocacy on the issue. The initial goal is to reach 100,000 actions by March 2010 and 1 million actions in one year:

http://saynotoviolence.org


More information and tips on how to use the web platform is available here:

http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/sayno/kits/how_to_use_the_say_no_website.pdf

World Toilet Day- Tomorrow!

November 19 is World Toilet Day.
It might seem a bit ridiculous to have a special day dedicated to toilets.
BUT

· Think of the millions of people who have no access to adequate sanitation

· Think of how you should feel if you were obliged to go outside in the fields instead of disposing of a nice clean and private toilet

· Think of the thousands of girls who cannot go to school because they don’t dispose of separate toilets

· Think of all the people being ill or dying from contaminated water and poor hygiene

Our Federation theme focuses on clean water and sanitation, so it is appropriate for our Clubs to make a special effort for a sanitation project on this day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every Club did a fund-raising activity to build one toilet? This would really make a difference.
Go to the PEP on our water website, www.soroptimistsgoforwater.nl and select a sanitation project.

Eliane Lagasse
SI/E President


Sunday 15 November 2009

How reputation could save the Earth

HAVE you ever noticed a friend or neighbour driving a new hybrid car and felt pressure to trade in your gas guzzler?

Or worried about what people might think when you drive up to the office in an SUV?

If so, then you have experienced the power of reputation for encouraging good public behaviour.

In fact, reputation is such an effective motivator that it could help us solve the most pressing issue we face - protecting our planet.

Read full article here:
How reputation could save the Earth - opinion - 15 November 2009 - New Scientist

Children sanitation alert

source: bbc.co.uk

Millions of children's lives are being put at risk each year because aid agencies and governments make wrong choices about health care priorities.

This is the conclusion of a new report from the charity WaterAid.

It says that diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation is killing many more children than HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

The report says the global spending on HIV/Aids hugely outweighs the amounts spent on providing better sanitation.

Read full article HERE

Fabien Cousteau: Our Water Planet, Our Health: Part 3



Fabien Cousteau talks of the human impact on our (water) planet, affecting our health.
19th Soroptimist International of Europe Congress Amsterdam 2009
http://www.soroptimisteurope.org
webclip by http://www.buzzmedia.net

Who decides our fate?
Perhaps our planet decides our fate because of our actions, or in-actions?
Every ten minutes one distinct species disappears on our planet.
By 2050 only 60% of the world population will have sufficient access to clean drinking water.
It's not too late to change the course that we have set for ourselves.

Fabien Cousteau is a French aquatic filmmaker and oceanographic explorer. He is son of Jean-Michel Cousteau and grandson of the noted oceanographic explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

19th Nordic Soroptimist Meeting

Soroptimists come to Bergen!

Download the Invitation HERE

The themes of the meeting are:

I. Climate Change – How can we mitigate the effects of climate change and integrate sustainability into personal choices and government policies and programmes?

II.There will also be a follow up of the human trafficking theme run by all the Nordic Soroptimist Unions, launched in Reykjavik in 2008. We have invited a representative of GRETA, the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings appointed by the Council of Europe, to give us an update on its work and on the present situation in Europe regarding Trafficking.

On-line registration as of 1. December 2009: www.soroptimistnorway.no

Start Time:
Friday, 11 June 2010 at 01:25
End Time:
Sunday, 13 June 2010 at 04:25
Location:
Bergen, Norway

Thursday 12 November 2009

Time to take Tuna off the menu

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) is calling for curbs to be imposed urgently to prevent the collapse of stocks. A lucrative industry has developed based on catching shoals of migrating bluefin tuna, then putting them in offshore cages to fatten them on smaller fish before exporting them to Japan for sushi.

Spain leads this maritime bonanza, with the biggest tuna-fattening operation in the world off the south-east coast near Murcia, but Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are joining in.

But it is in Spain where a handful of big companies are misusing EU funds, under-reporting their catch, disrupting the ecological balance of the western Mediterranean and depriving local rod-and-line anglers of a livelihood that dates from Roman times, the WWF claims.

Read full article here: Independent.co.uk


Monday 9 November 2009

L'eau sur notre planète

Invitation - Water on our Planet - Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland (In French)

Les clubs de Lausanne • Lavaux • Montreux • Rolle • Vevey •
Yverdon-les-Bains du Soroptimist International
s’engagent pour l’eau et vous invitent à une conférence publique:

Enjeux écologiques, politiques et sociaux

mardi 17 novembre 2009 • 19h00

P R O G RA MME
• Dès 18h: Ouverture des portes et accueil
• 19h: Propos de bienvenue
• Allocution de madame la présidente de l’Union Suisse, Emma Brugnoli
• Conférence de monsieur le professeur Alexander J. B. Zehnder
• Présentation des deux projets choisis
• Apéritif dînatoire offert

Entrée libre et collecte en faveur des projets présentés.

(Aula des Cèdres / Avenue de Cour 25 • 1007 Lausanne)

Read PDF invitation here:
Invitation - Water on our Planet - Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland (In French)

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Let’s be THE global voice for women!

Soroptimists are always committed to act and shake the world!

Let’s be THE global voice for women!


We look forward to your comments and suggestions!

soroptimist.europe@googlemail.com

Project of the Month: Submit!

As of this month, we will have a project of the month up on the www.soroptimisteurope.org website.

This project will be chosen from the selection of Programme Focus Reports submitted the previous month.
A small selection procedure will then reveal the winner on the website!

In this way, your projects as well as your C/Union will receive more
publicity.

So please keep submitting your PFRs onto

http://www.reports.soroptimistinternational.org



Deep-sea Ecosystems Affected By Climate Change

ScienceDaily (2009-11-03) -- Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60 percent of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming, warn scientists. Long-term climate change is likely to influence both deep-sea communities and the chemistry of their environment.

Read full article here:

Science DailyDeep-sea Ecosystems Affected By Climate Change

View Fabien Cousteau's speech, during the SI/E Water Congress in Amsterdam, on how human impact on our (water) planet is affecting our health.

Click for Webclip on Youtube


Climate Change Could Create Agricultural Winners And Losers In East Africa

ScienceDaily (2009-11-03) -- As African leaders prepare to present an ambitious proposal to industrialized countries for coping with climate change in the part of the world that is most vulnerable to its impacts, a new study points to where and how some of this money should be spent. The study projects that climate change will have highly variable impacts on East Africa's vital maize and bean harvests over the next two to four decades.

Read full article here:

sciencedaily.com

Monday 2 November 2009

Fabien Cousteau: Our Water Planet, Our Health: Part 2



Over the years, the blue marble has begun to show signs of serious failing health.

Garbage patches the size of Canada are suffocating our wildlife.
If animals are dying, guess who's next?

How much more before the public has had enough of this inaction that is poisoning not only our planet but all of our children?

Fabien Cousteau talks of the human impact on our (water) planet, affecting our health.

19th Soroptimist International of Europe Congress
Amsterdam 2009

http://www.soroptimisteurope.org
webclip by http://www.buzzmedia.net

Climate map: 4-Degree Celsius Rise

A new map of the world that details the likely effects of a failure to cut carbons emissions has been developed by Met Office scientists

"A 4C world would have a major impact on water availability, with supplies limited to an extra billion people by 2080. It could also be very bad news for the Amazon, with some computer models predicting severe drying and subsequent die-back. One of the biggest, more subtle, effects could be on the way the world's oceans and ecosystems absorb carbon. About half of our carbon emissions are currently soaked up in this way, which helps put the brake on global warming. In a 4C world, scientists say the amount of emissions re-absorbed in this way could shrink to just 30%."

Read entire article on Guardian.co.uk (source)