Chairman's September Message
Hello and welcome to the UKPAC website. My name is Susan Biggs, and I am the Chairman of the UK Programme Action Committee. I hope you enjoy looking through this site and find many things of interest.
Every month I write a message and, at the foot of this page, you can access back numbers of a newsletter version, which is sent, via Regions and clubs, to each Soroptimist in the UK.
It seems absolutely ages since the last full message on the website.
But fully rested from my holidays I am now raring to go and kick off the round of Soroptimist work. Most Clubs will be getting ready to meet again after the summer break and will now be looking forward to the Federation Conference in Manchester in October. If you are already booked please come and visit our stand to let us know what you think of the way the Programme is being handled in the UK.
Thank you to all those members who attended the UKPAC Study Day back in July and for all their kind words and constructive comments via the feedback forms. I have waded through them all and will be taking on board the suggestions as we now start to plan the 2012 Study Day. If any clubs would like a copy of the DVD shown at Reading please contact me directly or through the website and I will endeavour to send you one through the post.
I know that many of you have responded to the Pakistan Flooding appeal. But we only have to watch the news to see how great the needs of the people are. Flooding has now covered one quarter of the country and UNICEF are calling upon all their partners to dig deep and help out. Please remember UNICEF receives no funding from the United Nations budget. They are funded entirely by voluntary donations.
Clubs can download the emergency fund raising pack from the website www.unicef.org.uk/emergencyfundraising Clubs can also donate on line by visiting www.unicef.org.uk/Pakistansoroptimists
A clear link to the above appeal is to let Nick Clegg know your thoughts on clean water and how that saves the lives of children. Millions of children do not have access to safe water and proper sanitation and 400 children die every day as a result.
On 20-22 of this month, Nick Clegg will be attending a UN Summit of world leaders in New York, to review the Millennium Development Goals. These goals were set ten years ago to transform the lives of millions of children. With only five years left before the 2015 deadline for achieving the goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the summit of world leaders to try to accelerate action. The sanitation goal has fallen way behind target. Visit WaterAid's website www.digtoilets.org and sign their e-petition, or UNICEF UK's e-petition..
The WNC have published a new report entitled “Women in Public Life”. We have set up a link to the report which was compiled from events held around the country in 2009. I know that many Soroptimists attended the workshops and the report makes interesting reading.
As VAW-SIN (Violence Against Women - Stop It Now) remains our flagship project for the moment. I have been sent details from Amnesty International regarding their campaign on the “no recourse to public funds” rule and its effect on women who have insecure immigration status and suffer from domestic abuse. The campaign asks that people write to their MP asking them to ensure the government’s pilot project to help these women is made into a permanent programme. The website is www.amnesty.org.uk/actions
I was sent a flyer for the Million Women Rise march in Manchester in October 2010 and in London in March 2011 please follow the link to find out more.
Finally if you are taking advantage of the weather or are off on your holidays have a good time and don’t get too sunburnt.
Sue Biggs
September 2010
Newsletter back numbers
Newsletter format (as a PDF) of past issues of the Chairman's Message. Please note that although my message is written at the beginning of the month, I often update it during the month (as for example when the Haiti earthquake hit) and these newsletters reflect the changes.
