Gilda Padua shows awards Zonta-Pampanga received in Hong Kong. Contributed Photo
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A centennial walk was how the Zonta Club of Pampanga celebrated Zonta International’s 100th anniversary on November 9 at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila.
The centennial walk was made possible with the support of 14 other clubs under District 17 – Area 1 even as Zonta Club of Pampanga president Gilda Padua also acknowledged the support of the provincial government in helping them carry out the project.
Padua said the Zonta Club of Pampanga received the diamond and silver awards for centennial membership rate growth at the recently concluded District 17 conference held in Hong Kong.
The chapter also won the Best Centennial Advocacy prize for its “Aeta community workshop: Ending child marriage” campaign in partnership with the Pampanga provincial government through its Provincial Social Welfare and Development Offi ce (PSWDO).
“We would like to share these awards with our partners who work diligently to execute our projects,” Padua said. “The support that we receive from our province through our Nanay Lilia Pineda and her team in the PSWDO has done a tremendous work in facilitating all the programs we had for the Aetas.”
“We are more than inspired and committed to continue coming up with plans and programs until we eliminate the drivers on what causes child marriage among the Aetas,” Padua enthused.
The “end child marriage” campaign gathered women, mothers, young mothers and children for a workshop on the mental and health consequences as well as the social impact of child marriage in the community.
“Ending child marriage in the Aeta community will be a long journey but we are a group of empowered women and our job is to empower,” Padua said.
Known for their strong advocacy for gender equality and women empowerment, Zonta International is a worldwide non-government organization founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York by a group of empowered executive women.
One hundred years later, Zonta’s legacy can be seen and felt through nearly 1,200 clubs in 63 countries worldwide.
