HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN WORLD OF Y.W.C.A.

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28450, 3 December 1957, Page 2

HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN WORLD OF Y.W.C.A.

To Miss Rosemary Barlee, activities secretary of the Y.W.C.A. in Christchurch, the most beneficial part of the course she has been attending in professional leadership in Melbourne was the enriching work on human relationships.

“Getting to know people and to understand them is the whole basis of Y.W.C.A. work and what I learnt on the course has been a most stimulating experience,” Miss Barlee said yesterday, on her return to duty. Professional leaders must be able to promote goodwill and cooperation at the local level, she said. Such factors were fully dealt with by instructors at the professional leadership training course, conducted by the Y.W.C.A. of Australia.

Physical Fitness For the first two weeks students attended a very vigorous course held by the National Fitness Association of Victoria for professional leaders. This organisation conducts regular physical fitness courses for men, but this was the first for women and its members included 10 policewomen. Next came a conference for leaders to discuss their work for Y.W.C.A. hostel girls.-sports girls, adolescents and young adults. Then began the three-term programme of study which included theology. religious education, church history; - group work and crafts for clubs. At the same time, lectures were given in psychology.l human relationships, literature, j history and principles of the! Y.W.C.A., committee procedure,! as well as private studies and re-j search. Each student was allocated a private tutor from the training committee of the National Y.W.C.A. of Australia. Jubilee Convention While she was in Australia, Miss Bailee attended the Jubilee Convention of the National Y.W.C.A. of Australia as a New Zealand fraternal delegate. This convention, which was held in Sydney, met to frame its policy for the next three years. Discussions and exchanges of ideas showed that

problems in Australia were similar to those facing the association in Zealand and by sharing ideas it was usually possible to come to an agreement on how to solve them, she said. The convention was attended by the Hon. Miss Isohel Catto, World President of Y.W.C.A. and Dr.

Una Porter, vice-president for Australia and New Zealand. During the eight months she was in Australia, Miss Barlee took part in Y.W.C.A. field work at week-ends for the last four months she was there. At weekends she would go to a heavy industrial area in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, to help to organise club activities. The community in which she worked had little to offer young people. The Y.W.C.A.’s club for school girls and its youth group filled in a long-felt need. Now club activities are being organised there for adults, who, in the past, have taken little interest in what has been done for their young people. “In this comparatively new industrial area, the Y.W.C.A. was welcomed particularly by the ‘Old Australians.’ many of whom felt that they were being pushed into the background in favour of the ‘New Australians’.” she said. “In my schoolgirls’ club there were seven nationalities, including Dutch and Maltese, among 24 members.” All the churches in the district were most co-operative and lent the Y.W.C.A. staff their halls for meetings and club activities. The churches felt that the Y.W.C.A. had an exceptional opportunity for expanding youth work in the district, because the association is interdenominational. “The Y.W.C.A. is meeting the challenge.” Miss ’ Barlee said.