During the 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Gaylord Area, USA, collected pads and tampons for the Karing Home Youth Project for local unhoused teens and the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan for survivors of abuse.
Collection sites include the Otsego County Library and Family Fare on Main Street in Gaylord, Michigan.
The rapidly growing population of Southeast Asian migrant workers and immigrants in Taiwan has made public and private sectors aware of the increasing demand for new services. District 31, Taiwan and Mongolia, participated in the latest trend and has decided to aid the new immigrant community as one of its 2020-2022 biannual goals.
On 3 December, a Zonta International delegation led by Governor Vivienne Shen visited Taoyuan New Immigrants Cultural Hall and SouthEastAsian Migrant Inspired (SEAMi) to learn their services in Taoyuan City. Taoyuan City is the home of the largest migrant workers and the fourth largest for the new immigrants in Taiwan. All the delegates were impressed by the contributions and achievements of the two organizations.
In the Cultural Hall, Yu-Ting Chang, the deputy executive director of Taoyuan City’s New Immigrant Joint Service Center, told the delegation that Taoyuan is the first city in Taiwan to establish the section exclusively for the new immigrants’ affairs under its Social Welfare Department. The Center, supervised by the team, coordinates with governmental departments to provide one-stop service for the new immigrants. Legal consultation and language assistance are also provided. The latter has helped COVID-19 information delivery preventing the pandemic from spreading among the immigrant communities.
Located in the rear of Taoyuan Railway Station where the migrant workers gather for leisure, SEAMi, a non-governmental organization established in 2015, was a bookstore for migrant workers’ reading the books from home. It has transformed into a cultural exchange center between new immigrants and the residents. Sing Yee Tan from Malaysia supervises the SEAMi project contracted by the city government on migrant worker service in the Joint Service Center.
Phạm Mỹ Hạnh, a Vietnam language teacher, shared her experiences on community works while making the Aodai bookmarks with the Zontians. They are popular speakers of SEAMi’s training courses and guided tours on Southeast Asian culture for the local schools and communities.
From 25 November to 10 December, the Orange the World: Ending Gender-Based Violence took place. The delegation, led by Vivienne, held a parade carrying the boards and banners of “Zonta Says No to Violence against Women” and walked from the New Immigrants Cultural Hall through Taoyuan Railway Station to SEAMi to urge the public to be aware of the issue. The delegation included Director Diana Cheng of Area 1, President Stasia Huang of Taipei Cosmo Club, President Gui-Chu Yang of Taoyuan Club, President Vicky Wang of Taoyuan Peony Club, and members from the three clubs.
To mark the observance of the 16-day global campaign to end violence against women, the Zonta Club of Cebu II, the Philippines, released an advocacy anthem called Women Unite: The Time is Ours on Spotify and YouTube.
The club commissioned and owned the anthem. It aims to bring women together and declare that the time is up for the system of violence, for the stigma and silence, for the cycle of apathy and abuse.
The song is composed by multi-awarded, Cebu-based songwriter, Jude Gitamondoc, musically arranged by Cebuano Tony Alfonso with vocals by stage actress Ivy Gallur.
The Zonta Club of Kankakee, USA, decorated a Christmas tree in one of their local towns to bring attention to the Zonta Says NO campaign. The ornaments included words representing the club: service, advocacy, fundraising, friendship, leadership and more. The club had a bar code so that individuals could go directly to their Instagram and Facebook.
For this year’s 16 Days of Activism, the Ilocos Norte National High School Z Club, the Philippines, encouraged their classmates to imagine a world where women’s rights are recognized as human rights and that women’s capabilities are acknowledged in various fields by writing an open letter. In the open letters, the students shared their experiences to empower their peers and others worldwide to reach that goal.
With the theme of Transitions, Changes and New Opportunities, the club calls for people to unite and stand as leaders of change towards their goal of achieving world peace and progress.
The Zonta Club of Montevideo, Uruguay, says NO in the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign on social media. The club publishes a poster each day on Facebook and shares on WhatsApp and Instagram with friends and associates to raise awareness about the violence that affects women and girls.
The Zonta Club of Liestal, Switzerland, has once against hosted a booth in the neighborhood to inform their local community about the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign. The club distributed emergency cards for their region in the likelihood a woman may need help.
Informational brochures from the local police and assistance for victims of domestic abuse were readily available. The club also handed out small sanitizer bottles and bicycle saddle covers to promote the event. Some club members were wearing an orange vest with the Zonta Says NO logo.
As a part of its Zonta Says NO campaign, the Zonta Club of Portland, USA, turned Portland, Oregon, orange to spread awareness on gender-based violence during the 16 Days of Activism.
On 20 November, the Zonta Club of Cheyenne, USA, and members of the community marched from the capitol to the Laramie County Library, where it set up a display of the Silent Witness silhouettes of local women killed by domestic violence.
The display will be available for viewing for about two weeks during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. Members of the community are encouraged to visit the representations of victims of domestic violence and also review information about missing and/or murdered indigenous women.
2021 marks the 30th year of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign to raise awareness about violence against women. Following the Silent Witness March, the participants heard the personal story of Mary Billiter, a survivor of domestic violence – a story full of gut-wrenching violence and awe-inspiring strength to bring her to a better place.
