THE PLUNKET SYSTEM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20832, 26 September 1929, Page 8

THE PLUNKET SYSTEM.

DEVELOPMENT IN PALESTINE. . VISIT OF MRS IRWELL. ■. • Visiting Dunedin at presents Mrs H. Irwell; who arrived in the city on Tuesday evening, accompanied by Mrs David Nathan, and-was welcomed at a communal reception 1 under. the. auspices d£- \the Congregation Social Club ahd the Women’s Jewish Organisation of Dunedin. In view of the world-wide interest that- has been. focussed upon P.aleetine, it is * a coincidence that Mrs Irwell,. whose life work hasbeen intimately, connected with. -the modern development iof the JewishSpape, and who’' left*Palestine ■ only’ about a week Before the " outbreak df : the recent ; riots, should be at .present .visiting , ' DuUedin. Mrs Irwel 1 .was of, those instrumental in the establishment of the Plufiket system of mothercraft ini Palestine, and her visit to Dunedin is being made largely because'of a desire to, inspect the hirthplace of the system and to.examine the methods that. are .followed here. Testerday she visited the Karitahe-Harris Hospital, and was entertained at afternoon m the Savoy Restaurant. ’' • Mrs IrweU k a vice-president of the Ziomst Women's Federation. in England and is on the. presidium,of the. Internatipnal Federation .of , Zionist. Women, bpeakmg to a Daily Times reporter yesterday, Mrs Irwell said that the federation received communications from 1 32 countries withTaccobnts of what each’ was f°f the benefit 1 ' of the women and chudrenof their race, especially in Palestme. The-Zionist -Women's Federation started m Britain just after the Balfour Declaration, and from it had grown the International Federation, with branches all over the world. -The.great work had been the starting-of infant welfare work I, 1 ) Palestine. This was 'done under the direction of Sir /Truby King,’ and-nurses trained at the mothercraft centre ’ in'London were sent to Palestine to begin the work there, which was run on Plunket lines. New Zealand took an interest in the work after the visit of Mr Israel c °nen m 1922. and now New Zealand and Australian Jewish, women supported three infant welfare cCntreis and a mothercraft, centre in Tel Aviv, 'Where mothers * ron i Eastern Europe and the Yemen were taught the principles of infant care. The work was; not confined to .the 'Jewish , mothers, but- was open to all. and mauv Arab women availed themselves of the nurses services. The nurses' had to be picked women, said Mrs Irwell, for besides their nursing training add Plunket training they had to be-able to speak, not only English, but Hebrew. Yiddish, •ana Arabic. Mrs Irwell herself studied Arabic tor a short time at the Oriental College m London, and found it of the greatest- use, for she had-travelled extensively on behalf of the-Zionist Federation, bhe had been several times to Palestine spending some months there when Mrs David Nathan, president of the work in New Zealand; was there. She was also present at the opening of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.' There was a Government hospital at Jerusalem which had a midwives’ training school, continued Mrs Irwell, and the' Moslem Council paid for the-training of Moslem pupils’ midwives, who later went out to work among their own people. The Hadassah' Medical organisation ' also obtained licenses for imdwives, so that there Were 291-licensed in Palestine last year; There were 38 infant welfare’ centres, and ■ 14,456 infants were cared for. so that it was no wonder that the infant mortality had been lowered amone the Jewish people in Palestine. .Mrs Irwell will .return to Christchurch this evening.