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TheWI: relevant in its 2nd century By KATE BARLOW The Spectator STONEY CREEK The Women's Institute — a quaint anachronism, a form of genteel activism more suited to the past? Not so, say members of the world's largest rural j women's organiza- I tion. Starting to- I day, about 2,000 WI " members are meeting at the Hamilton Convention Centre for their interna- A d e l a W e Hoodless tional conference. Membership may be in the doldrums and the average age increasing — it's currently around 72 — but the Institute's practical community action both here and overseas is as relevant as 100 years ago, when it was founded in Stoney Creek. As an example of its work, WI members cite an incident in 1995, when Health Canada asked the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada to be a partner in a study on substance use and abuse among rural women. Health Canada program consultant Lisa Mattar approached the Institute because members are keyed into rural communities across the country: " They are the only national organization we knew of that had links to rural women in particular and rural community approaches and health issues." Local WI members in three test communities in Newfoundland, Quebec and Saskatchewan co- ordinated the project. Mattar says that as a result, Health Canada received valuable insight into the reasons for substance use and abuse by rural women. " It was a really good experience working with ( the Women's Institute) and we certainly would in the future," said Mattar. A final report is due to be released soon. Special Report Historic roots, modem Issues: A5 Continued from A l Previous projects undertaken with Health Canada include a 1990 rural child- care survey which has become a standard reference work for those trying to find solutions to the problems of child care in rural areas. Then, there are the projects undertaken with Agriculture Canada and the National Association of Women and the Law, focusing on workshops for rural women on farm finance and matrimonial property and inheritance law on farms. In the works is a literacy project in partnership with a national non- government organization. FWIC president- elect Mildred Keith of New Brunswick says the Women's Institute is asked to help because of its deep roots in rural Canada. In 1995, Ontario's 15,000 members alone logged three- quarters of a million volunteer hours in rural communities. " We are really the orily group in touch with rural women across Canada who can speak with a national voice," says Keith. But it's not just nationally that the Women's Institute collective voice is heard. The FWIC was involved in planning the 1995 Beijing United Nations World Conference on Women and FWIC president Charlotte Johnson was an official representative. And as a founder and the largest member of the Associated Country Women Of The World, the Women's Institute Has access to the needs and achievements of millions of rural women through ACWW's 350 member societies in more than 65 countries. Consults with UN In turn ACWW has consultative status with 13 United Nations Agencies, among them UNESCO ( United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the World Health Organization. This has resulted in programs in developing countries • aimed at clean drinking water and basic sanitation, stopping the spread of AIDS and leadership and skills training. And if this all seems somewhat remote from the quiet work done by individual branches, consider two anecdotes by Peggy Knapp, the Women's Institute's ACWW representative and a member of a WI branch in Guelph. In one village in Uganda, AIDS had so devastated the population that only a few women and children were left alive. The goat herd, the only available source of food, had become inbred and was producing little milk. What was needed were healthy goats in their prime to improve the stock. Once the story was relayed to branches through the ACWW, members in every province buckled down and raised sufficient funds to send four healthy male goats from South Africa to that Ugandan village. In a second example, a group of children in another Ugandan village were left orphans after their parents died from AIDS, with the result that the children felt worthless in a culture where old and young work for the common good. The children had no way of contributing to their village and no money for school. Once again, Canadian WI branches came to the rescue with funds to start a piggery. The orphaned children earn wages looking after the pigs with the result that they are able to once again contribute to their village. The pigs are a valuable source of food and the money earned by the children pays for their education.
Object Description
Rating | |
Title | Scrapbook FWIC 1997 Convention |
Subject | Conventions; Reports; FWIC |
Description | Scrapbook FWIC 1997 Convention |
Language | en |
Format | application/pdf |
Type | text |
Source | Alberta Women's Institutes |
Identifier | awi0811103 |
Date | 1997 |
Collection | Alberta Women's Institutes - Collective Memory |
Repository | AU Digital Library |
Copyright | For Private Study and Research Use Only |
Description
Title | Page 34 |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | AWI Collection |
Collection | Alberta Women's Institutes - Collective Memory |
Repository | AU Digital Library |
Copyright | For Private Study and Research Use Only |
Transcript | TheWI: relevant in its 2nd century By KATE BARLOW The Spectator STONEY CREEK The Women's Institute — a quaint anachronism, a form of genteel activism more suited to the past? Not so, say members of the world's largest rural j women's organiza- I tion. Starting to- I day, about 2,000 WI " members are meeting at the Hamilton Convention Centre for their interna- A d e l a W e Hoodless tional conference. Membership may be in the doldrums and the average age increasing — it's currently around 72 — but the Institute's practical community action both here and overseas is as relevant as 100 years ago, when it was founded in Stoney Creek. As an example of its work, WI members cite an incident in 1995, when Health Canada asked the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada to be a partner in a study on substance use and abuse among rural women. Health Canada program consultant Lisa Mattar approached the Institute because members are keyed into rural communities across the country: " They are the only national organization we knew of that had links to rural women in particular and rural community approaches and health issues." Local WI members in three test communities in Newfoundland, Quebec and Saskatchewan co- ordinated the project. Mattar says that as a result, Health Canada received valuable insight into the reasons for substance use and abuse by rural women. " It was a really good experience working with ( the Women's Institute) and we certainly would in the future," said Mattar. A final report is due to be released soon. Special Report Historic roots, modem Issues: A5 Continued from A l Previous projects undertaken with Health Canada include a 1990 rural child- care survey which has become a standard reference work for those trying to find solutions to the problems of child care in rural areas. Then, there are the projects undertaken with Agriculture Canada and the National Association of Women and the Law, focusing on workshops for rural women on farm finance and matrimonial property and inheritance law on farms. In the works is a literacy project in partnership with a national non- government organization. FWIC president- elect Mildred Keith of New Brunswick says the Women's Institute is asked to help because of its deep roots in rural Canada. In 1995, Ontario's 15,000 members alone logged three- quarters of a million volunteer hours in rural communities. " We are really the orily group in touch with rural women across Canada who can speak with a national voice," says Keith. But it's not just nationally that the Women's Institute collective voice is heard. The FWIC was involved in planning the 1995 Beijing United Nations World Conference on Women and FWIC president Charlotte Johnson was an official representative. And as a founder and the largest member of the Associated Country Women Of The World, the Women's Institute Has access to the needs and achievements of millions of rural women through ACWW's 350 member societies in more than 65 countries. Consults with UN In turn ACWW has consultative status with 13 United Nations Agencies, among them UNESCO ( United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the World Health Organization. This has resulted in programs in developing countries • aimed at clean drinking water and basic sanitation, stopping the spread of AIDS and leadership and skills training. And if this all seems somewhat remote from the quiet work done by individual branches, consider two anecdotes by Peggy Knapp, the Women's Institute's ACWW representative and a member of a WI branch in Guelph. In one village in Uganda, AIDS had so devastated the population that only a few women and children were left alive. The goat herd, the only available source of food, had become inbred and was producing little milk. What was needed were healthy goats in their prime to improve the stock. Once the story was relayed to branches through the ACWW, members in every province buckled down and raised sufficient funds to send four healthy male goats from South Africa to that Ugandan village. In a second example, a group of children in another Ugandan village were left orphans after their parents died from AIDS, with the result that the children felt worthless in a culture where old and young work for the common good. The children had no way of contributing to their village and no money for school. Once again, Canadian WI branches came to the rescue with funds to start a piggery. The orphaned children earn wages looking after the pigs with the result that they are able to once again contribute to their village. The pigs are a valuable source of food and the money earned by the children pays for their education. |
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