Soroptimists are amazing women who do amazing things around the world.
The thousands of projects they plan, finance and implement are remarkable on many levels and really do improve lives. If I had the opportunity, I would love to thank each and every member personally for her work, but that is simply impossible when you see that our Unions and Clubs realise some 4,500 projects every year.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to commend one particular campaign, which is representative of our entire organisation: Since 2014 2500 Soroptimists from SI Netherlands, Surinam and Curaçao have raised €500,000 for their ‘Syria Back to School’ campaign in cooperation with UNICEF. With this financial backing, UNICEF has been able to build and furnish classrooms as well as remunerate teachers so that Syrian refugees in Turkey can return to school. For details, please see News.
The commitment demonstrated by our Dutch Soroptimists is exemplary and deserves special mention! They collaborated on creative and fun projects and events to raise the money to help school children who through no fault of their own were being robbed of an education. Many congratulations and thank you for your impressive teamwork – and partnership with UNICEF. This spirit is what makes us proud to be Soroptimists!