Large or small

Our Programme Action work can cover a wide variety of different activities, from the very quick signing of petitions or canvassing MPs, to short-term or long-term project activities. Here are details of just a few of them.

AfriReuse

Our chosen charity for 2021-22 was AfriReuse - a community-based, not for profit, social enterprise, empowering the girls of West Pokot, Kenya to have their periods safely. 

The charity prioritise training and employment for girls who have been rescued from FGM and raise funds through the production of dignity packs: Each dignity pack includes: 2 moisture-resistant fabric shields; 8 washable liners; 2 pairs of underwear; soap a wash cloth; a small protective bag to discreetly carry used liners home).  https://afrireusepads.org/   We have raised enough money to fund 200 Dignity Packs!

BackPacks - ending April 2022

The provision of a school bag/backpack containing all the essential items needed for a child aged between 4 and 12 in Africa to be able to attend school - without these basics, children can't go to school and therefore miss out on the vital opportunity for education. And most children attending these schools can also benefit from at least one good meal a day provided by the main Mary's Meals charity.

The bags need to contain:

• Notepad, pens, pencils, crayons, eraser, ruler, sharpener, pencil case
• Towel, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste
• Shorts or skirt, t-shirt or dress, flip-flops or sandals
• Small ball
• Spoon

Further information at www.marysmeals.org.uk/campaigns/get-involved/the-backpack-project/      and click here for the Backpack Leaflet

Garstang Soroptimists have provided over 500 filled backpacks for this campaign, until Covid costs and logistical difficulties eventually forced Mary's Meals to end this piece of work.

Send a Cow - now known as The Ripple Effect

Send a Cow was set up by a group of Christian dairy farmers from the UK in 1988. Outraged at EU milk quotas, which were forcing them to slaughter healthy dairy cows, and in response to an appeal from Uganda for milk, they embarked on a project, which was set to become an innovative and practical charity. Uganda was just emerging from a long civil war, communities and their farmland had been destroyed and much of the country's livestock wiped out. Several of the UK farmers flew to Africa to investigate how they could help.

Meeting with Ugandan farmers, the Bishop of Mukono, and a livestock expert, they saw how smallholder dairy farming in Africa could work. People there were unable to feed themselves and milk would provide an instant source of nutrition. They returned to the UK determined to help, and sent cows from their own herds to Uganda. Send a Cow was born.   https://sendacow.org/

RNIB Stamp and Coin Collections

Following a very successful couple of Christmas collections of used stamps, we are now collecting both used stamps and old or foreign coins on a regular basis to support the Royal National Institute for the Blind. 

https://www.rnib.org.uk/donations-and-fundraising/fundraising-your-community/stamps-appeal

Previous projects have included:

• See Solar Cook Solar
• Birthing in the Gambia (the BIG project)
• Derian House Children's Hospice   https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/
• Think Pink Sri Lanka - we bought a whole TukTuk!   https://www.rosie-may.com/work-sri-lanka/

Classrooms in the Clouds - Nepal

President Susan's chosen charity for 2017-18 year, had a simple aim - supporting children's education in the remote villages of Nepal.

This is done by:

• Building good quality, new classrooms
• Sponsoring teachers, supporting teacher training and encouraging employment of female teachers
• Working in partnership with local Nepalese communities and international partners
• A little fundraising can go a long way!       

www.classroomsintheclouds.org

Mary's Meals

Our charity for the 2016-17 year, Mary’s Meals, was chosen because of the links it has with our very successful and ongoing Backpack Project, which provides everyday essentials in clothes, hygiene and stationery to help children in countries like Malawi and Liberia get the best out of school.

Mary’s Meals sets up school feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, where poverty and hunger prevent children from getting an education.

Their idea is a very simple one …. But it works.

They provide a daily meal, using locally sourced ingredients, in a place of learning to attract chronically poor children into the classroom where they receive and education which can set them free from poverty in later life.

Mary’s meals began by feeding 200 children in Malawi in 2002 – and today they are feeding over two million children every school day across four continents.

And IT COSTS JUST £15.90 (2022) TO FEED A CHILD FOR A WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR!        www.marysmeals.org.uk

WaterAid

What marvellous thing clean running water is and how we take it for granted.  But imagine your life if you had to walk several miles a day to collect contaminated water  and then carry it home in a container balanced on your head (usually about 20kg in weight).  You then feed this water full of germs and bacteria to your children – you have no choice! WaterAid provides the expertise to set up communal pumps and taps in villages and teaches the community how to look after the equipment and, just as important how to use the water to improve their hygiene and therefore, their health.  Also, if you’re not spending several hours a day collecting water – you could be in school getting an education or working to provide more for your family.

Toilet Twinning

A small doorway to health! By providing basic sanitation and hygiene education, we can help prevent the spread of disease. We can help children be healthier to go to school and adults to go to work.  By providing a toilet for a community, we are flushing away poverty.

PIES (Partners in Education Swaziland)

A centre to provide pre-school children with a hot meal each day, basic education (formal education starts at 7 years in Swaziland) and time to play.  The centre looks after about 100 children each day and it costs about £5 per month to feed each child.

Life Education

Life Education brings health and wellbeing learning to life. The specially trained and equipped educators go to schools to deliver exciting and fun lessons that stay with children. Last year over 800,000 children learned about making positive health and lifestyle choices.