Maryanne Cassar speaks to Michaela Muscat about her role as President of Soroptomist Malta. The enthusiasm expressed by Maryanne about her vocation, is authentic to the extent that it would soften any self-confessed cynic

I have to admit that before meeting Maryanne Cassar, the term Soroptomist meant nothing to me. The Latin word ‘soro’ hinted at a women’s organisation. Beyond that detail, I had no inkling. On my way to the interview I hoped that this was not another glorified house-wives’ club – chock-full of feather-brained ladies whose main occupation revolves around lunching and shopping. You know the annoying type.

Or worse, it could be a meeting place for the sort of do-gooders caricaturised perfectly by Charles Dickens in Bleak House making it a point that all and sundry knew about their passion for ‘helping those less fortunate.’ I found out soon enough, that I could not have been more wrong. The domain of professional and business women, the organisation would certainly not welcome any aging Paris Hiltons.

As soon as Maryanne welcomed me into her home she flicked out her folder and got down to business – describing the organisation of which she is president, with genuine zeal. “The main objectives of Soroptimism are focused mainly on health, education, social and economic development, human rights, the status of women and the environment. Club activities are many and varied and one finds Soroptimists involved in most aspects of community life, not just as professionals but also showing they care.”

With a beaming smile she describes the Club’s latest achievement as her ‘baby.’

The President of Soroptomist Malta is of course talking about the endeavour of sending a Maltese female athlete to the Peace Marathon in Rwanda. “Last year we joined in this marathon by organizing a solidarity walk here in Malta on the same day as the event in Rwanda. The proceeds from this walk went to support projects in Rwanda. This year SI Europe, the organisers of this project, insisted that we send a participant to represent Malta in this event. This type of international project needs a lot of support and sponsors, the flight alone costs over Lm500. With the help of our sponsors – Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health, Nestlé Malta, Air Malta and others, who prefer to remain unmentioned, we achieved our goal.

“As Rwanda is on high ground it was very tough for Giselle, our athlete, as she was not used to such high altitudes. Nevertheless she managed to place First from the foreign female runners.”

Why Rwanda? “The aim of the marathon was to raise awareness about the process of reconciliation amongst the people of Rwanda. To educate the young about peace and to aid the victims of the genocide of 1994. After the civil war most of the women remained victims of the genocide, leaving them as the sole family support. SI Europe together with SI Rwanda are helping these women and their children with projects like opening schools and establishing hospitals for AIDS victims and teaching women skills with which they could be self-supporting.”

Soroptomist International was founded in America in 1921 and the first European club was chartered in 1924. There are four federations: The Americas, Europe, Great Britain and Ireland (of which the Malta Club forms part) and the South West Pacific. Out of the 96,000 members spread out in 120 countries, twenty reside in Malta. SI Malta was chartered in 1993. Back in 1998, a friend who was a Soroptomist asked Maryanne if she wanted to join. The rest; as they say, is history.

Since then, Maryanne has occupied several posts. As Programme Acting Chairperson she organized the Woman in the Community Award, and attended SIGBI Conferences. She was Vice President, President Elect and now President.

What makes SI different from other local women’s organisations is that through their international counterparts, “SI has an active role in the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Women’s Lobby, affiliations which help us find ways to promote our aims.”

Maryanne’s aspiration for the future is to enroll more young professional members. She would like to ensure the involvement of each member in the projects, to continue to support international projects and promote new ones especially those aiming at rehabilitating young women at risk by supporting and helping them become independent and reach their full potential.

Which is the President’s chosen charity? “Having young people at heart I chose Dar Giuseppa Debono an institution which supports young unmarried mothers.” (This institution was featured in last month’s edition of First.)

On the home front Maryanne is a mother of three, and has three grandchildren whom she adores and who she tends to spoil because “I believe that children should be lovingly spoiled, it’s part of their growing up feeling happy, loved and secure”.

Christine her eldest is married to Jes, they have two children: Rebekah, eight and Max five. Christine lives and works in Gozo as a teacher at 6th Form. Steve, her other son, is a partner in a leading advertising and marketing communications company here in Malta. He is married to Francesca and they have one daughter Anna who is three and a half years old.

Her youngest, Robert is twenty-three and has recently joined a foreign software company based in Malta, as a programmer.

Freshly retired, Maryanne was an English teacher for four decades. “I started teaching at the British Army School in Germany when I was nineteen. My father was an army officer and when he was posted to Germany the whole family moved there for three years. I was at the best age to enjoy this new experience. You can imagine what a change it was from sheltered Malta.”

Maryanne started teaching soon after her arrival in Mulhein. Her task, apart from normal classes, was to teach Maltese to the Maltese children whose parents were serving a term in Germany. She also modelled clothes for some brands in Düsseldorf. She had a lot of local friends, who she still meets occasionally, and travelled extensively. Her only regret is that she did not take the opportunity to become fluent in German.

When she returned to Malta, Maryanne taught at St Benild’s and the Convent of the Sacred Heart. Then she moved to post-secondary education teaching English and communication skills for some years at the School of Hairdressing and later at the Secretarial School.

As a member of an organisation which believes in empowering women, the svelte brunette sticks to her guns. She is worried about the great number of women who choose not to learn any skills. “I have worked all my life and I don’t think that my children every felt neglected. It is hard for the working mother but I believe that women are capable of dedicating enough time and energy to both their public and private spheres. Of course I was a teacher which made it easier for me. If you work in an office it’s harder, but women have proved that it’s possible.

“Some girls still have the mentality that their husband should work for the upkeep of the family so they don’t bother with getting any type of qualifications. I always told the girls I used to teach that they should think about their future. The home environment has a huge influence of the choices that the girls make. They see their mothers and sisters getting married young and they just follow suit. I think that total dependence on their husbands is one of the reasons why abused and battered women tolerate a violent husband. Sadly, I’m sure that the thought of not being able to provide for herself and her children would make her think twice about leaving. A financially independent woman would not stand for any abuse as she wouldn’t have fostered a culture of dependency.”

The negligence of children is another matter that worries the Soroptomists.

“Those children who lack serenity and contentment throughout their childhood are sometimes more in need than those who lack money. Obviously I am not referring to children whose mothers work! Every year we have a project with children, but the one which I think gives visible and instant pleasure to them is an outing which we organise almost every year towards Christmas: a shopping spree at a mall using the gift vouchers generously donated by the shops. Very often the children end up surprising their loved ones with their purchases. I think that the children feel empowered that for once they can buy something for the person they love and it’s usually their mother. I must say, this, accompanied by a film and lunch makes the outing a very enjoyable event.”

Begging to differ from all those who believe that children’s neglect is a consequence of women exercising their right to work, I ask Maryanne “Isn’t it the case that maybe, children and women are under too much pressure, because the men are not doing enough?” She answers: “Men’s behaviour towards housework and child-rearing has changed. I often notice young men on Saturday mornings at the Strand, a number of young fathers minding their offspring while their mummies are busy doing something else. I think that there were always men who helped in the house but the attitude today is that everybody has to do his share.”

Maryanne concludes: “As members of SI we have the advantage of belonging to an international organization whose global links give us the capacity to share our problems and to find solutions. For Soroptimist International to be truly “international” we must think and act globally; we must be tolerant and flexible; we must be passionate and persistent providing compassionate and thoughtful service and universal friendship. As Soroptimists we strongly believe that the difference between action and inaction will affect the lives of women and children, not only in Malta but also throughout the world.”