VOLUNTEER NURSING SISTERHOOD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 54, 27 November 1917, Page 7

VOLUNTEER NURSING SISTERHOOD

AT BREAKING-POINT

APPEAL FOR HOLIDAY FUNDS

The hon. secretary of tlio Mayoress 9 Countess of Liverpool Fund So cle y issued to the various branches of the organisation throughout the coul ™y the following appeal for iimds vvith which to give a mucji-needed holiday » the members of the Iscw Zealand unteer Nursing Sisterhood who haws, done such splendid work tor our soldiers in Egypt, Salonika, and England It is an appeal which deserves to be generously responded to by the pi , and many motliers and fathers in t country owe a debt that can " evei paid to these fine women who have unselfishly given of their best for the we fare of the soldiers of Now The circular which lias been sent out is as field officer, who has seen much service abroad, is urging upon this society the necessity of securing a re for the Voluntary Nursing Sisterhood, tvlio left New Zealand for Egyp 19 "T 0 give these ladies the holiday which is suggested, tho sum or -3 must be raised. My committee has r - quested me to interest you in the ma tor, and to solicit your sympathy and assistance. If each district would s pply £75 the holiday would be assured. "The field officer has written very earnestly on the subject, and is rull o admiration for tho voluntary nurses and the work they are doing- He has proved to ns that the holiday which lie desires them to have is an absolu necessity. He has seen their work ana the conditions under which it is performed, and he knows that the Dominion owes them a debt of gwtitn • They have made life bearable for o soldiers jn a climate which is terribly trying, and by their unselfish efforts they have kept many of our own inon and the men of tho Australian Army ill good heijlth and spirits. "You will remember that the voluntary nurses received no a6sistanco from the Government, and that their expenses wero paid by private people a various patriotic committees. During the summer of 1916 they opened a canteen on the sands of Tel-el-Kebir desert, and there they lived m great discomfort. The temperature wasi rarely less than 114 in the shade, and often reached 130-and in that awful heat these women toiled unceasingly cook ng cakes and littlo dehcapies and niak ng cool drinks, and earning the undying gratitude of the mon stationed in that o "Thevoluntary sisterhood also established recreation huts, where games and papers were provided free. All ranKs, says the field officer, 'were full of admiration for the work these wonderful woraon accomplished.' "When the troops moved fuitliei on, the voluntary nurses could not foHow, aud they were,then absorbed by van ous hospitals and Red Cross tions, and I beliovo officials speak very highly of those women and their work in the hospitals. "Early m 11)17 tho voluntary nurses returned to the desert, where they established a club for the soldiers, with loading and writing room, and recreation huts and a supply store, at which extras can bo procured. Any profits so made are distributed among different units for tho benefit of the mon. "It is hardly necessary for me to point out that these women deserve a rest, and that they must get it in Upper Egypt or tho Sudan—a trip_ to Europo being impossible at this juncture. They could teave-two or three at a time—and should start soon, for they have been in harness ever since they arrived in Egypt, and the Egyptiau winter from December to March, is the best time. . . . "My committee is quite certain that - you will do all in your power to help the women who are working so nobly for our boys', and who are prepared to go on working until they drop by tho way. , ~ "The nurses do not know of this appeal being made on thoir behalf, .but ' the fact has been grasped from mfor--1 mation in letters received from the mat- ; ron that unless these workers hare a • change they will 1 not be able to carry ■ 011."