A VIVID PICTURE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16372, 21 June 1927, Page 3

A VIVID PICTURE

DISTRESS IN AUCKLAND SOCIAL SERVICE WORK (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. A vivid picture of distress in Auckland was given to the Rotary Club by social workers. Sister Esther said she had the names of over 1000 children on her books, whose parents were in poof circumstances. " 1 have visited many of the homes, have climbed through windows 'to inspect them when the people have been out, and you would Ue appalled by the conditions under which .some oi the children live," Sister Esther said. " You could hardly realise that such things exist in this beautiful city of outs, i'ou could hardly find worse m London." In one home she found a sweet-faced girl of 16 and her little sister. The father had a weakness for drink, and the mother was broken spirited arid seemed unable to take an interest in their welfare. In the dingy room there was a rusty wire mattress without a sign of covering. The two sisters had occupied that bed for many mouths. In another case two brothers, aged 12 and 14, had slept for two years on a piece of cocoanut matting spread out on the floor. A STRANGE FEELING. "We got beds jwid blankets for them," Sister Esther said. " The feeling was so strange and glorious to one of them that he could not believe the bed a reality and thought he, had been dreaming." These were conditions that prevailed almost at the back door of those who had plenty. They were encouraged in their work by the support and sympathy of the Rotary Club, and they owed their thanks to the club for its continued interest.

The Rev. Jasper Cnlder, City Missioner, said the country was too young to have conditions like these, and they should not be permitted. The efforts of the City Mission were centred in the soup kitchen anil shelter. Tho kitchen was run by the Sisters of the Mission, many of whom had social experience in all parts of the world, and its benefactions \ycti'. entirely inter-denomina-tional. The kitchen M - as open every day, and they distributed on an average 3000 soup meals every week.