PRESIDENT’S REMARKS

Greetings!

The 2023-2024 Biennium has been quite exciting for the Kenya Network with many activities both locally and internationally. Our handing over ceremony was done on 26th November, 2022 and it was a lovely meeting that ended in a thrilling dinner dance. It was quite rejuvenating to have members engage in a physical meeting after the challenges of Covid-19.

The first physical COD-Network meeting took place in April and all clubs had exciting reports to present. The theme on Educate, Empower and Enable as cascaded down from the Soroptimist International President Maureen Maguire, resonated with all Clubs in the Network.

The year 2023 has also seen Kenyan Soroptimists participate in the 2023 SIAF Conference held in Durban, South Africa. Kenya had the largest delegation from the African continent of 20 members. A project by one of the Kenyan members of SI Eldoret, Khayanga Wasike; The Leadership and Mentorship Programme got a certificate of Special Recognition Award.

SI Kenya Network also participated in the 2023 Dublin Convention, again,sending the largest delegation from Africa of 30 participants. Members of SI Kisumu and SI Kisumu Winam exhibited a poster each and yet again, the Leadership and Mentorship Program got a special mention by the SI President and Khayanga was actually asked to greet the over 1500 delegates!

The Soroptimist Kenya Network with 14 Clubs has done many activities including spearheading the campaign on Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Africa whose path was chartered by SI Milimani in collaboration with SI Dubai. The campaign has attracted a partnership with UN Health 4life Fund whose goal is to fundraise for the activities that will see as many women as possible screened and as many girls get the HPV vaccine, all in the spirit to eliminate cervical cancer and its ravages from the African continent. The UN Health 4Life campaign was launched in Durban and re-launched in Dublin and the ball is now in our court as SIAF Soroptimists to set the ball rolling at the grassroots by engaging in awareness campaigns, which most clubs have already begun. Special mention goes to SI Vihiga and SI Embu who have already documented data of the cervical screening campaigns.

The SIAF Database is now on and Club Presidents are urged to complete their Club details so that reports can also be posted in the data base for visibility of all the good work that the Kenya Network is doing.

 

Dr. Victoria Kutto

President-SIKN