WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 28 (Supplement)

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

HISTORY, AIMS AND IDEALS • AIDING WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY. DISTRESS AND MONOTONY RELIEF. (By F. 1 J. Kaye, Inglewood, president, Taranaki Federation of Women's Institutes.) The Women’s Institute movement is a unique one, in that for the first time in history country women are united without the distinction of specialised interests/ social rank, religious denomination or political party, in the common purpose'of bettering country life for themselves and their community. We in New Zealand still are, and should long be, a nation chiefly comprised of country dwellers. Our rural population is our mainstay, and any movement that tends to attract to ahd help people in the country will have the sympathy of all sections, for an enlightened and contented country population is the best asset any nation can possess. The first Women’s Institute was formed at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, in 1897, and since its formation a most surprising development has taken place. An association entirely composed of country women has not only the largest single organisation of women in the world, but it has given unquestioned leadership in organisation, in effectiveness and in progress. Institutes grew and spread throughout Canada with astonishing rapidity, being fostered by an enlightened Government, .until eyen. the smallest and most iso- '' la'ted district now possesses its Women’s Institute. The movement spread next to the United States, then to Belgium and. other countries in Europe. In 1915 the first Women’s Institute was -formed in . England, and Scotland soon followed. . In England there are now •Over 5000- Institutes with a membership of. 300,000 women ranking second in power to the Trade Unions. Since then .the. idea, has spread all over the world and Institutes. are . now established in 40 countries. In 1921 Miss Jerome Spencer, the founder of our movement in this land, formed the first Institute at Rissington, , Hawke’s,Bay. The proof that the movement meets a real need in the country lies in. its growth, for we now have 750 Institute in New Zealand, with a membership of approximately 45,000 '■women, and we are ever growing more and more in power and numbers, and •lowly spreading over the whole world. . -The question is often asked; “What are ‘Women’s Institutes?” Our handbook 'teaches us that Women’s Institutes are ' gatherings together of country women who meet once a month to discuss mat- ..' ters of interest to them all, and that they ' aim at a training in anything that tends for the betterment of the home, the advancement of the people, and the good of the country. Hence our motto, “For Home and Country,” and our watchwords, home-making, citizenship and cooperation. FUNDAMENTAL AIM. The fundamental aim of all Institute ■ programmes is the same, namely, to . broaden the mind, to stimulate reasoning, receptiveness and sound judgment, . and to encourage individual effort in coordination, which is team-work. Tire

strength of our movement lies in this idea ..of team-work. Each member is expected to “pull her weight,” not towards individual welfare, but for the general good. Thus the Women’s Institute strives towards its high goal, to make some nook more beautiful and some heart happier.

Women’s Institutes in New Zealand are steadily becoming a powerful lever for raising country women, however isolated their location may be, out of the narrow rut of domestic drudgery into a more ratified atmosphere of true culture and social usefulness. Be it comradeship, self-realisation, manual dexterity, widening of outlook, craftsman- ; ship, wholesome entertainment, sense of citizenship, contact with the ,outside world, or, above all, happy and successful home-making, our movement is out to supply the need, and thus to fulfil its noble and comprehensive purpose of im- ' proving and developing the life of women in the country. > It : would be impossible to cover the ground of all the work accomplished by Institutes, but our efforts are not limited to the well-being of our own members. _ The burden of the suffering and the distressed around us is also our burden, and each Institute has its “welfare” or S.O.S. committee. A great deal of local and national relief work has had our practical help. Distress from whatever cause must always appeal to any body of women. Our women help, not because they are Institute members, but .because' no true woman can ever close „■ ■ her. ears to the call of trouble. . Nevertheless an organised Institute in . a district ensures that the response to ' that ' call will be immediate and efficient. Is there any phase of moral life which is not affected by the Women’s Institute? Does it not bring education, . music, art, handicrafts, co-operation, r sociability, goodwill and laughter to the country? But does it not do far more? " Is there an Institute in the country of / ' which' it cannot be said at the end of the ' year that someone in it has discovered ’ a" new faculty, a new talent? Someone ’ has found herself possessed of some dexterity of hand or eye of which she was unaware, or of some absorbing interest completely new, or of some intellectual vision that was never thought of? The cumulative effect of this unlocking, this expansion of the mind cannot be measured.

We have our Constitution, our Institutes, our Federations, our Dominion Executive, but these are only the machinery of our movement. Above and beyond everything the spirit of the movement, the-spirit of love, friendship and service burns with a steady flame. The supreme ideal of our movement is service, and travelling this path calls for qualities of courage and sacrifice, the sacrifice of selfish aims. But as we win towards our goal we now and then catch the . gleam of true happiness and we know we are on the right road. Ourl motto, “For Home and Country,” furnishes the inspiration under which we work, and if we work faithfully and unselfishly. to improve and better our horries, our Institutes, our community, our country and civilisation there is no question about our future. We know the position our Institutes hold in the world, and it is largely due to the worthy aims and objects which were laid down in the beginning. If wewish to live up to the ideals embodied in our motto, the ideal of service, let us keep it ever before us. It is for that were were organised, it is for that we wish to carry on, for it is not what we get, but what we give; not how we pray,' but . how we live. These are the things that make for peace both now and for ever. Our movement is one which must call forth all that is greatest and best in our natures, and always in connection with our work must be this dominating idea, “The utmost for the highest.”