Orange Glow of Activism

The old Hawkesbury hospital building in Windsor is set to be bathed in an orange glow from Thursday, November 25th to December 10th to highlight the devastating effect of domestic violence in communities.

The 16 Days of Activism event has been organised by the local woman’s organisation, The Zonta Club of Cumberland West in conjunction with Hawkesbury City Council.

President of The Zonta Club of Cumberland West, Margaret McDonald, said The club supports women’s refuges and domestic violence services in the Hawkesbury and Blacktown LGAs with club members providing toiletries and care packs and also assisting in funding programs run in the refuges.

The 16 Days of Activism campaign is a UN campaign and runs from 25 November (the International day of no violence against women and children) to 10 December (Human Rights Day) each year.

The old hospital building in Windsor will be lit in orange each night for the whole 16 days in support of the UN campaign. Club secretary Karen Hickman said: “ We are doing our bit to “Orange the World’. The idea behind the campaign is to raise awareness about gender-based violence, challenge deep-seated attitudes of discrimination and advocate for fairer laws and more services to end violence against children.

“This goes to the heart of what our organisation Zonta International, is all about. Zonta’s main focus is to advocate for equality for women and girls around the world. Zonta’s key statement is: Zonta says no to violence against women.”

As well as its work with women’s refuges, club members also produce breast care cushions for women undergoing breast cancer treatment in the local area and hold Birthing Kit Assembly days which help to save the lives of women giving birth in developing countries.

The club meets at Blacktown RSL on the 4th Thursday of the month. New members welcome. For details call Karen on 0432 938 246