Soroptimist International South Africa

Soroptimist International of South Africa (SISA) was founded in 1964 and is associated to the Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, one of the four Federations within the Soroptimist International Organisation. The National Council’s responsibilities include:

• To unite, guide and council all clubs in South Africa
• To co-ordinate activities and projects to ensure the objects of Soroptimism are met.
• To provide a link to governmental and other national and provincial bodies.
• To facilitate the formation and closure of clubs .

Soroptimists in South Africa will continue to support the objects of Soroptimist International through advocacy, awareness and action and strive for the advancement of the human rights and the status of women through the education and empowerment of women socially, economically and politically.

We are faced with so many challenges in our country, however we will unite in our vision for a better tomorrow in support of the Federation theme for this year of "Imagining the Impossible-but Creating the Reality" and continuously strive to improve the quality of life of people less privileged than ourselves. The eradication of poverty remains a key challenge to all of us who live in South Africa.

Programme Action is the reason for our existence and the Programme Focus Areas agreed to every 4 years at the Soroptimist International conference provide us with the framework to ensure that we uphold our objects and commitment by working towards a common goal. Clubs have selected diverse projects within their own communities but in support of the focus areas of:

• Economic and Social Development
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Human Rights and the Status of Women
• International Goodwill and Understanding.

SISA encourages clubs to add more value to their current and future projects by utilizing the individual skills, knowledge and expertise of every member, to the benefit of those in need. We wish to become more proactive in shaping the future of women and children by lobbying government on important issues and contributing to debate in areas of importance. We have a strong international voice through our representation on the Economic and Social work standing committee of the United Nations, Unicef and Unesco, however we are not influencing decisions in our own country to the extent we should.

In support of government’s plea to NGO’s to be involved in the fight against AIDS, we adopted a framework for a Soroptimist National Aids Orphan Programme for which we received global funding of R1,5m to acquire a transit home for orphans who lost their parents to Aids. In collaboration with communities we have identified potential projects which will be evaluated and selected for implementation. This is an exciting new project which will require input and support from every Soroptimist and we trust that we will attract new members who can add value in their own individual way to make a difference.

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South African Soroptimist Clubs

• Cape of Good Hope - PO Box 83 Rondebosch 7701   
• Durban - PO Box 50849 Musgrave 4062
• Grahamstown - PO Box 538 Grahamstown 6140
• Johannesburg - PO Box 411402 Craighall 2024
• Lion's Head - PO Box 446 Sea Point 8060
• Mafikeng - PO Box 6159 Mmabatho 2735
• Port Elizabeth - PO Box 12748 Centrahill 6006
• Pretoria - PO Box 71093 The Willows 0041
• Tshwane - PO Box 36606 Menlo Park 0102