Leading with Compassion: Standing Up for Women and Children

At the beginning of sixth form, sitting at the front of our assembly with our friends, enrichment projects were advertised, and we got the choice to pick ONE. It was then when SistersIN was presented to us. Eagerly we signed up and started our SistersIN journey.

At first it was strange, we had to match up with people we had never spoken to before and rely on them as mentors. Then we were being trusted to create our own projects to show leadership.

Carys and my projects consist of a Handbag Appeal and a Balikbayan box for less fortunate kids in the Philippines. Carys selected the Handbag appeal to collaborate with a charity called LoveGrace, she felt the need to address situations such as domestic violence because it is unfortunately such a common issue and affects everyone, whether they know someone, or if it is personal to them. The charity and project matter to her because they work with local communities in partnership with the White Ribbon campaign.

I chose to do the Bablikbayan box to give to less fortunate children who had no other place to go. I believe that it should be addressed that there are young children in these situations, and I want to be someone who is able to help.

The handbag appeal will benefit many women and children who were left with almost nothing after leaving their home due to domestic violence. It is said that 1 in 4 women are affected by domestic violence and therefore is a worldwide issue. Northern Ireland specifically is now one of the most dangerous places for a woman to live with having over 30,000 incidents reported annually.

The bablikbayan box reaches an orphanage in the Philippines which provides them with needed necessities. These go to kids that were abandoned by their families because they were sick, or almost given up on because their families could not afford to medicate them. This is unfortunately a major issue within the Philippines with over 60,000 children dying from sickness before the age of 5 with 60% of those deaths being newborns. Our box could help impact the orphanage majorly in such a positive way and ensure that those statistics can be lowered over the next few years.

This reflects the SistersIN values as we share a common purpose of wanting to help those in their most vulnerable moments, with unconditional support from our cohort and mentors, doing this through compassionate service to those in need and empowering others to do the same, through doing this we stand up for those who have been neglected within society around the world. Through this meaningful work as young women we are developing essential skills for our future such as confidence in decision-making, leadership/project management and most importantly communication. Additionally, while we develop skills for the future, we are also able to build off what we already have such as compassion and empathy as well as resilience and determination.