COUNTRYWOMEN MEET

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 263, 5 August 1942, Page 3

COUNTRYWOMEN MEET

Dominion-Wide Activities Of W.D.F.U.

It was essential that staple foodstuffs’ be grown and raised and this meant great sacrifice of time and strength on rhe part of men and' women, said Mrs. AV. Orr, acting-Dominion president of the W.D.F.U., in preseriting her report at a recent meeting of the Dominion advisory board in Wellington. Labour was short and that meant double and sometimes treble work, but all were glad and proud to do it, when the need was so great, i . There were plenty of children who entered the world never to have enough to eat, to die early from malnutrition. Even in New Zealand there were still children living- under bad conditions, poor environment, receiving wrong food and insufficient education. Disease claimed more victims than any war ever did or ever would claim. The first line of defence of civilization was education and knowledge. There were few outstanding men and women leading the world. today, she continued. More public spirit was needed—that high sense of privilege and responsibllitv that was the safeguard of the Empire in the past and was needed, so badly row. People today were living in an age when the fruits of science were being used for destruction, but the day was coming when science would give people power and leisure. When that time came children would stay at school till, they were educated, workers would retire in time to enjoy the leisure they had earned and the great work of the nation would tall on the shoulders able to hear it. Every baby would have its chance, every child its opportunity and every mother her rights. In spite of increasing war ' activities and (lie shortage of petrol the work of the W.D.F.U. had gone on. One could not help admiring the smaller back-block branches —their spirit and initiative was splendid. The work of helping the mothers, as done by' the housekeepers, was perhaps the most important-of all the division’s win work. . - A comprehensive report was presented Ly the Dominion secretary; Mrs. A. P>. Smith. Total membership for 1040-41 was 19,147 and four new branches were formed. The 500 odd branches were all busy with patriotic w’ork that included knitting and sewing and large quantities < f goods had been supplied. A considerable amount of monetary assistance had been given to outside organizations: £176 to general charities, £l4O to the leper fund, £1547 to patriotic funds and £192 to necessitous eases. Mrs. Smith stressed the importance ot the housekeeping work. No effort members might make as organized country women in regard to the war effort could rank higher in national value than the division’s emergency housekeeping scheme. The total number of engagements recorded for 1941-42 was 814. It was increas.ingly difficult to find suitable women Icr the work. In an effort to secure reliable women it was decided at a subsequent meeting - to increase housekeepers wages substantially, the division hoping in this way to maintain the high standard established for this work.