St. George’s, August 24, 2009: Volunteers involved in service organisations are “unsung heroes and heroines’’ to whom government is looking for help in the development of Grenadian youth, a senior government minister said Monday.

 

“Volunteer organisations have contributed in every conceivable field: from education to health services, sports and culture, to providing some of the best public servants and politicians,’’ Tourism Minister Glynis Roberts said as she officially declared open a conference of the Caribbean Network of Soroptimist International.

 

Delegates were guests of a reception hosted on Sunday evening at Mt. Royal by Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas.

 

Both the Prime Minister and his Tourism Minister have expressed government’s support for the goals and objectives of the Soroptimists.

 

Here is the full text of the address delivered by Minister Roberts at the opening of the conference.

 

SALUTATIONS!

 

On behalf of the government and people of Grenada, I would to extend a warm welcome to all the overseas delegates who are visiting our lovely island-nation for this Soroptimist International Conference.  We are pleased to have you here and invite you to visit our beaches and the many historical places of interest not just on mainland Grenada, but also on our sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

 

It is always truly a wonderful privilege when I’m afforded an opportunity to speak to members of a volunteer service organisation, whether it’s a local or community-based service organisation, or it’s a regional or international one. Service organisations like the Soroptimists have, in my opinion, been the unsung heroes and heroines in the national development around the globe. In Grenada, for example, volunteer organisations have contributed in every conceivable field: from education to health services, sports and culture, to providing some of the best public servants and politicians, including the current President of the local Soroptimist Club Gloria Payne-Banfield, whom we should all give a round of applause.

 

The first Soroptimist Club was founded in 1921 in Oakland, California.  It is commendable that today there are more than 3-thousand clubs worldwide, including in Grenada, and that Soroptimists are a leading global voice for women and girls, advocating for such things as the elimination of poverty and gender discrimination; ensuring that women and girls live in safe and healthy environments; ensuring equal access to education and training; and assuring women’s advancement in management, politics and decision making.

 

These goals and objectives are precisely the same as those of the Grenada Government, led by Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas. We will always be committed to helping our young people, striving to provide them with the tools to a first-class education so that they can compete for jobs not just locally but also regionally and internationally.  But we need the support of the Soroptimists and other service organisations to assist in the overall development of young people.  We, as government, need your support to impart to them those social skills that could make the difference between landing a job and achieving success at the workplace or on the sporting field.

 

I need not remind you, Soroptimist members, that you are also role models for younger generations of women.  You are too modest to toot your own horns but I don’t mind tooting them for you. Many of you, local Soroptimists, broke the glass ceiling that was set for women and established yourselves as leaders and success stories in the public and private sectors. 

 

Yes, Soroptimists broke glass ceilings but there are many more to be broken.  Your efforts certainly helped paved the way and made it easier for Grenada to become the first CARICOM country with a female Governor, Dame Hilda Bynoe. We have had women as political party leaders, including Gloria Payne-Banfield and Joan Purcell, the current President of the Senate, but we have not as yet had a female Prime Minister of Grenada. And many of the successful businesses that have been around for decades have never had a female chief executive officer or president.

 

By working with and mentoring young Grenadian girls, Soroptimists can instil in them the fortitude, decisiveness, self-will, self-confidence and passion that are required to succeed in school, business, politics, and life in general.

 

The Government, of which I am a member, will do everything in its power to assist you, the members of the Soroptimist Club, as individuals and as an organisation.  We would not relent in our endeavours to provide better healthcare and to strengthen the social network for our nationals; to pass laws and enforce existing laws that protect our most vulnerable citizens, namely children, women and the elderly.

 

We also are determined to continue the meetings and partnership consultations we began last year with national stakeholders, including trade unions, private sector groups and non-governmental organisations. We want you to assist us as government by providing us with your suggestions and ideas for improving services to all the people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Government alone cannot do it. We need you – NGOs and civic organisations – to be partners in the practical delivery of programs and services.

 

The Soroptimists’ contribution to helping women and girls everywhere, which in turn contribute to nation building, is needed now more than ever. Your membership has a wealth of talent and wisdom and a collective experience that are required by every country, especially among the youth population. You must find creative ways to reach young people so that you can teach them and mentor them; perhaps not teach and mentor them in the use of modern technology such as computers and i-Pods, because they are likely to be more adept at those things than you or me. But you can teach and mentor them in life skills and social skills, in good manners, in approaching life with confidence at all time, in conflict resolution, study skills and discipline, and in workplace etiquette.

 

As Soroptimists, please continue to put your hearts and minds to work to transform nations and to create a brighter future for others, especially women and girls. I concur with Hanne Jensbo, President of Soroptimist International, that her biggest concern is to end extreme world poverty by 2015, and I join her appeal for partnerships and cooperation with other organisations – including the United Nations.  The bottomline, says Ms. Jensbo, is that the world needs action and not rhetoric.

 

Her goal, she says, is to increase the engagement of all Soroptimist members so that “one and all will feel that she is an ambassador for Soroptimist International, which is working to empower women and girls through awareness, advocacy and action.’’

 

This is indeed a worthy goal of the President of Soroptimist International. And it should be the goal of all of us, Soroptimist or not. Our communities, our countries and the world certainly need more action and less rhetoric. To borrow a slogan from former Grenada Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy, Soroptimist International is blazing a trail in what he would have described as “action and progress.’’ I congratulate you.

 

Thank you and may GOD bless you all abundantly.