On May 22 Soroptimist International of Lake Forest held their awards banquet honoring two special women. The first was Brianna Smith who won the Violet Richardson Award, which honors girls who donate their time and energy to social causes that benefit women and girls in their community. Brianna was physically attacked in school. As a result of this bullying, she created “Safe Haven,” a program designed to help other potential victims of school bullying. Certain classrooms are designated as havens where students can go if they feel threatened. Brianna also set up an accompanying website, safehavenforteens.webs.com
The second was Hope Kagoyire who won the Women’s Opportunity Award, which honors women who are reclaiming their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. The program provides women with cash grants for education and skills training. As a Congolese refugee, Hope spent five years in a Ugandan refugee camp working as a nurse before coming to the United States. She is now pursuing her nursing degree at Irvine Valley College hoping one day to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a medical doctor. She not only received a cash grant from Soroptimist International of Lake Forest but also won the Soroptimist Desert Coast Region grant and is now competing for the national grant.
