INSPIRING MESSAGE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22320, 3 May 1947, Page 7

INSPIRING MESSAGE

A thought-provoking message to countrywomen was given at the meeting of the P.B. Federation of Women’s Institutes this week by the retiring president, Miss L. Ruru, who said: “I want to say a word about the future and that people can only be hapage—and some planners believe that the ordinary small village has no future and that people can oly be happy if they live in a community with a population of two or three thousand. "Some of us, on the other hand, believe that a village with a few hundred inhabitants, is a good place to live inprovided, of course, that water and electricity, which farms must have, go to the villages as well, and that the children can get to a school. “It is of the utmost importance that institute members should realise that within the next few years, or perhaps within the next few months, plans may be made for the future of their villages. I believe that this is the moment for country people to consider this problem from every point of view—the needs of agriculture, the employment likely to be available in the future, the demands of the-cities, the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small community—and then to make their views known to all the planners, in the district, in the county, in the region, and the national Government. “After all, we country people have experience behind us; we have enjoyed a great heritage and we must do our share in ensuring that in years to come the value and the delight of the country are not lost to our successors.”