President of Soroptimist International (SI) – Barbados, Peta-Lee Blackman, is appealing to Barbadians to assist the vulnerable in whatever way they can, including partnering with charities or organisations like SI Barbados to help individuals and families escape poverty and hunger.
The call came recently as members of the club participated in their annual SIGBI Day of Action which is a mandated day for regional and national Soroptimist associations across the world to showcase their respective project work under a theme. This year’s theme was Poverty where the objective was to focus on Food, Health, or Education.
For SI Barbados it provided the opportunity to focus on President Peta-Lee Blackman’s mission where she pledged to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to which Barbados is a signatory, and in this case specifically targeting zero hunger (SDG2).
Members took action gathering together at the Soroptimist Village in Eden Lodge last Saturday morning, July 13 to prepare delicious and healthy breakfast packages. The team then hit Jubilee Gardens in the City to feed the homeless community, some of which included children.
“We wanted to be able to serve the community and one of the things we think are pressing in this society are those vulnerable persons who can’t get something to eat. As a club, we came together, and we made some nutritious breakfast packages in order to serve these vulnerable persons. Additionally we traveled down to Jubilee Gardens, where we were able to hand out those packages to persons in need as we continue to push forward our mission and our mandate to serve persons in our community. We are definitely thankful that we can do that,” said Blackman.
She further explained that it was also important to have community collaboration and that is why SI Barbados chose Fishers of Men to assist in their food drive.
SI Barbados has been committed to addressing food insecurity and hunger and through the dedication of its membership and generous donations from the community, the organization has been able to make a tangible difference in the lives of those in need by also distributing food hampers every quarter to assist women in need. It also supports food security with its Frances Chandler Memorial Award where women in agriculture are assisted to increase crop production. (PR)
