Scrapbook FWIC 1997 Convention

              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.