The December 10th President's Appeal. Each year the President selects a project that provides direct assistance to women and girls in extreme need. In 2006, President Lynn Dunning selected a project in partnership with Oxfam, GB to increase girls’ attendance at school and improve the quality of education in poor areas of Punjab Province of Pakistan. Oxfam is an international relief organization that began in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. It now works create a change in attitudes in countries that condone violence against women.

Please read the information in the Project Punjab brochure included in your packet. The statistics are staggering. One in four children between the ages of 5 – 9 do not go to school and more likely the girls are kept at home. As a result the literacy rate for women is as low as 9% in some areas. The main purpose of the appeal is to raise funds through projects and donations to educate the girls. Every year the clubs are asked to participate by December 10, Human Rights Day, in making volunteer contributions. The monies will be used to train teachers, rehabilitate classrooms and raise awareness on the importance of equal access of education to girls. Please help these girls "Dare to Dream" of what they can become and contribute to this very worthwhile project.

The second project Quadrennial Project: For those who are new members every four years SI launches a major international project. We are in the last year of this project. 2003 – 2007 President Lynn Dunning selected a project that partners SI with Women for Women International, Project Independence: Women Survivors of War. The money raised helps women rebuild their lives following war & civil conflict, through Sponsorship, Renewing Life Skills and Income Generation Support.

It costs $330 in direct aid to sponsor a woman in this program. In July Soroptimist International went over the goal of 1200 women sponsored with Twelve hundred and six (1206) women involved in the skills and vocational training offered. Training is given in horticulture, teaching, bee keeping, goat herding, raising cattle, child care, beauty culture, house keeping, carpentry, health, vegetable gardening and leadership development.

Emotional support is lent by assigning correspondents to each of the women in the program and twenty Southern Region members have become correspondents for one year. Our group started corresponding in June with a sister in Rwanda. I have received letters from my sister Christine. It includes a picture.

SI asks for donations as club/region support of this project also. As of July 2006 over $900,000 had been raised but there is a goal of 1.2 million and the deadline is next July. The Project Liaison is Dawn Marie Lemons and she will be our guest at the next Southern Region Conference. It would be so good to let her know that we have helped them reach their goals. If you are looking for ideas for fundraising there are examples of projects on the website, WomenforWomenInternational.org.