Esperance Soroptimist project wins international award

Soroptimist International (SI) Esperance said it continues to receive international recognition for its community and school projects.

Among them, its Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) Sustainable Harvest programme, which was implemented at ASJA Girls' College, Barrackpore, has received multiple accolades, a media release said.

The project aimed to educate and empower the students to develop and manage a solar-powered hydroponics farm. The release said it was successful as a business model, in student growth and participation, and also with crop yield and increased sales – by 400 per cent and 700 per cent respectively. It also said Form 5 students achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in agriculture at CSEC exams.

For its impact, the project won the Best Practice Award for Education at the Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Federation Conference on November 1 in Edinburgh, the release said. It was selected to represent the SIGBI Federation to be showcased on the Soroptimist International website in observance of the International Day of the Girl Child.

In August, it was awarded Best Project at the 27th Biennial Soroptimist International Caribbean Network Conference in Grenada.

The agriculture project was undertaken in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Energy Engineers, with grant funding of $100,000 from the Digicel Foundation.

Another of its projects receiving international recognition was Orange Café – Esperance Soroptimists Advocate for Change. SIGBI featured this project in a federation webinar for the outstanding work addressing domestic violence, the release said.

For this, SI Esperance said it hosted an event featuring presentations by a survivor and experts in domestic violence. The club said it supported domestic-abuse survivors by donating $3,000 to Women of Substance, an NGO in Tobago that provides support to people affected by domestic violence and abuse.

Soroptimists stand up for women

SI Esperance is calling on society to adopt values of respect and empathy and is urging men to stop hurting women, whether verbally, physically, socially or in cyberspace, because there is #NoExcuse, it said in the release.

"Harmony begins with respect; self-respect and respect for others. A joke or action is only amusing if both parties find it so, otherwise it is bullying! We need to treat others as we wish to be treated. Men must treat women as they would want their sisters, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers to be treated.

"A peaceful world begins with teaching positive behaviour to the next generation. Soroptimists continue to be a global voice for women, working tirelessly to promote equality, safety, and opportunity for women and girls everywhere. To 'Orange the World,' let us unite, come together and act now!"