SI President Hanne- notes from Africa

(Editor's Note-President Hanne Jensbo recently went to several countries in Africa and sent back these stories that needed to be shared......Dawn Marie Lemonds)
Dear Soroptimist and Friends in Rwanda, Kenya and Elsewhere



My recent 12 days trip to Rwanda and Kenya confirmed to me, that our organisation has very strong and hard-working members and efficient clubs in the two SI/Europe countries. At the start of this report I want to send them all a big thank you for their hard work and for sincere devotion to Soroptimist goals in their projects for the societies and for the women in their countries.

Visit in Rwanda, the Soroptimist clubs in Kigali, Kibungo and Gisenyi.

The main purpose for my visit in Rwanda was to take part in the 6th Soroptimist Peace Marathon on the 23th of May. This big event is for the 6th time arranged by local and European Soroptimists in cooperation with the Rwandan Ministry of Sport.
Approximately 300 runners participated in the marathon runners and 600 runners participated in the semi-marathon participated -all from 25 nations. Together with another app. 800 joggers I participated in the 5km “Jog for Fun”. There was also a Wheelchair event and Marathon relay. The final kilometer were run in a huge stadium with many cheering supporters on the galleries.

2500 children aged from 10-12 years participated the day before in a run and they all got a T-shirt and a sweet.

The marathon is a GREAT manifestation of Soroptimists “Working for Peace”, and a big thank you to SI/E, European and local Soroptimists for funding and supporting this big event, which now is highly appreciated in Rwanda.

An interesting “copy” of this event, is that 70 soldiers in Afghanistan run a marathon for peace on the same day and had taken the idea from the Peace Marathon in Rwanda, so the message spreads!

I stayed at the project “San Marco”, which is an education centre in the outskirt of Kigali. During the last 7 years the Kigali Soroptimist club has built 3 class rooms for nursery school, offices, gathering hall for local weddings, atelier for sewing, handicrafts and construction, guest rooms – beautifully spread in a green campus with many trees and flowers. The enormous funding for this big centre has come from many European clubs, especially from the clubs in Luxembourg, Italy and San Marino.

For the moment the atelier was “occupied” by 6 professors and 18 students from the architect universities partly in Venice and partly in Kigali, who make common research and produce new ways of using natural building materials, such as bamboo, banana leaves and for the first time ever using coffee wood. Their methods and research will be introduced at the 12th Biennale in Venice, the International Architecture Exhibition from 29/8-21/11 2010. Also, 7 necklaces from the “Rwandan Atelier” for handicrafts will be exhibited, as the only representations from “black Africa”. A fantastic cadeau of high international recognition to “San Marco” centre, to the Kigali Soroptimists and to Bettina Scholl-Sabbatini, the real “Mama Africa” for more than 25 years.

When I first visited the “Hirondelles” school in Kibungo in 2002 – a two hour’s drive from Kigali - I saw 5 class rooms, but this time I saw a total complex of a private school with class rooms from nursery classes to the 9th form, with a stadium and new sanitation facilities, all built and supported by the Kibungo Soroptimist club, with financial help from SI/E clubs. In one class room 20 mini computers with simple software connected to internet, loaded by solar energy and at a price of 100$ were installed for the pupils in the first classes. In the higher classes 20 ordinary computers were installed! Another fantastic proof of Soroptimists “making a difference”.

In Gisenyi the Soroptimist showed me their rain harvesting installations, they had set up in 65 houses – all belonging to poor single women – many widows from the genocide in 1994. We handed over certificates to 8 young women, who have followed a two years course in design and formation and who now will start their own business. In a micro-credit project they “get” a sewing machine – free for the first 12 months, but then they have to pay the price back during the next years.

The whole visit was accompanied by warm hospitality from local soroptimists, inspiring get together with Soroptimist friends and fellows from 7 countries, fruitful meeting with representatives from all 7 clubs in Rwanda, inspiring being together with the professors and students for the architecture schools, goat meat grilled on bamboo sticks, planting roses from San Marino, visiting coffee plantation and the emotional “Rwanda Memorial Site” for the genocide, and not least: the beautiful view of the country with the “1000 Hills”.

Visiting Kenya – meetings with Soroptimists from all 10 Kenyan clubs.

The main purpose for my visit in Kenya was to participate in the official launching of the “Women and Climate Change” project – a joint project between Kenyan and Danish Soroptimists, supported by the Danish ministry of Foreign Affairs with 360.000$.

The opening took place in a beautiful campus at the Maseno University in the Kisumu area, close to the Victoria lake.

In 9 tents exhibitions on climate issues were displayed, from recycling of plastic materials to solar stoves for cooking.

More than 400 people, Soroptimists, people from the Maseno University and local institutions and schools, women for rural area, who had a bus ride of more than 2 hours each way, officials, professors, climate experts and friends participated in the symposium with speeches and presentations. More than 1500 small trees were give to the participants for planting at home in their own surroundings.

Hon. Esther Murugi, Kenyan Minister for Gender and Social Services, who was Soroptimist until she got minister, made the official opening and praised the Soroptimist for the good initiative and support to the Kenyan people. Kenya has recently experienced a very harsh period, first the post-election turbulence and after that 2 years of severe draught.

(Later I will report on the details in the “Women and Climate Change” project.)

Also the Kenya Soroptimists have good friends in European and American clubs, who support their projects financially.

The Kisumu club and the Kismu Winam club showed us their projects in the rural area. We saw the “Morningstar Nursery School” where new latrines are being built for the 160 kids, aging from 2-7. We visited Murumba Primary School with 500 pupils, where a water and sanitation project will be constructed, funded by “Women for Water”. The Winam club has just finished new toilettes in yellow and blue colors for the girls. We saw a field with tree planting projects and we also planted a tree for Soroptimist International together with minister Esther, to whom I made friendship more than 16 years ago. We stayed in the Nyanza Club from where we could see the sunset at the Victoria Lake. A Nairobi Soroptimist Lena Omondi kindly invited us to a tasty lunch in her new and elegant house outside Kisumu.

A big thank you to all European and American clubs for their support to projects in Kenya. A special thank you to SI/A for their support to water and sanitation in the slum of Nairobi, to displaced persons after the post-election conflict and to health and education projects. A really great projects, that needs to be more known!

Back in Nairobi, I spent some hours with Alice Owuor, our representatives to UNEP in Nairobi. Because of her great job as the first female Tax Revenue Commissioner in Kenya, she has to resign from the job at UN. She confirms that the work done at UNEP (UN Enviroment Programmes) is VERY essential and important to our Soroptimist projects on environment. I already met new candidates to take over Alice’s job at UN.


I thank the Kenya Union and its 10 clubs for the warm hospitality, they showed us and for the interest they have shown in participating in the training seminars for the Climate Change Project. We hope that together we can make a better environment in Kenya and by our work “Making a Difference” to the Kenyan society.


In friendship and many greetings from Rwanda and Kenya.



Hanne

President International