FRIENDSHIP ACROSS BORDERS
On 26th September 2021, members of SI Club of Bangsar ( Malaysia) held a zoom meeting with their Friendship Linked club SI Kopavogur, (Iceland) at 8pm Malaysian and 12pm Iceland time. This Friendship Across Borders brought 22 members together for a very enlightening sharing session.
The highlight of the meeting was the Candle Lighting ceremony. 90 year old charter member of SI Kopavogur, Hildur Hálfdanardóttir, mother of Hafdis Karlsdóttir, President Elect of SI Europe, did the honour of lighting the first candle followed by all attendees in the comfort of their respective environment.
She touched our hearts with, “I can feel within me that you are so close and we are all the same, fighting for the same things. We want to make the world better. And it is always possible. We are together as a team. We can survive and help others”. SI Kopavogur President Signy Þórðardóttir
shared the same sentiment of working ‘together as a team’ in her address to those present.
It was interesting to note that while we at SI Bangsar read the Soroptimist pledge, our sisters in SI Kopavogur read their version in “Markmið og Hvatning”
We got to know our sisters better from their brief introduction. And we from SI Bangsar shared our recent projects: “Teenage Survival Kit”( a programme to provide information for teenagers to cope with challenges) and SICB Bank Runcit, a food bank for those who have lost jobs, businesses in the recent pandemic.
Both clubs presented information on their respective countries: the culture, food, custom, diversity and women participation in leadership. It is inspiring to learn that Iceland now has 33 women and 30 men in Parliament.
The meeting ended with hope of a physical meeting in the near future in Dublin or in Kenya.
Report By:
Indira Naidu
Friendship Link Convenor
SI Club of Bangsar
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