Zonta Rose Day, March 8

– Zonta Club of Shreveport

Zonta International celebrates Rose Day on March 8, which is also International Women's Day. On this day, Zonta members worldwide – 30,000 in 66 countries – take stock of progress made in gender equality, call for change, and celebrate those who work to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof also champions the focus on women. Here’s what he wrote in his introduction to the NYT 2018 guide to making the world a better place:

“One of the most effective ways to make a difference is to invest in women and girls around the world. That’s because almost everywhere you look, inequity attaches itself to gender. Globally, moms even tend to breastfeed their sons longer than they do their daughters. Only one company in six worldwide has a female top manager. Girls are 50 percent more likely than boys to never attend any school at all, according to Unesco. A United Nations study of 10,000 men in the Asia/Pacific region found that almost one-quarter acknowledged having raped a woman.”

Peconic Bay Zonta is determined to help women and girls, especially those in our own backyard of eastern Long Island.

Since 2013, we have been awarding scholarships to women enrolled in the English as a Second Language program at Suffolk County Community College’s Riverhead campus. The college’s ESL program equips second-language learners with the linguistic ability necessary to thrive academically, professionally and socially. Immigrants, in particular, benefit because better English skills will ultimately assist their ability to find work, to have an income to buy goods and services, to pay taxes, and to live cohesively within the community.

Below are the women who have received Peconic Bay’s ESL scholarships to date, starting at the top with our latest awardee.

   Ana C. Aucapina Tigre, East Hampton, originally from Ecuador

   Maria Guadron, Calverton, originally from El Salvador

   Myra Lopez, Riverhead, from Guatemala

   Zhuzhanna Mihal, Moriches, native of Ukraine

   Ginet Rendon, Hampton Bays, originally from Colombia

   Lilian P. Garces, East Hampton, native of Columbia

   Inci Tubluk, Wading River, originally from Turkey

   Nelly Abad, East Hampton, from Ecuador

   Maria Paula Sierra Narvaez, Montauk, native of Columbia

   Veronica Rivas, Amagansett, from Columbia

COMING UP: All girls are special!