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South Pacific Area By Mary lanes The 9 million members of ACWW, liv- ing in 71 countries, are divided into 9 geographic areas for administration pur~ poses. Each Area has a President elected for a 3-year term. In this issue the focus is on the South Pacific Area. whose Presi- dent Jenny Mitchell is currently serving her second term. At the centennial cele- brations in 1997 Jenny mentioned that in her branch of the Country Women‘s As- sociation of Australia, more children attend meetings than adults! Membership A quick look at a map of the South Pacific shows that this area is made up of hundreds of islands. Some are politically independent; others are protectorates of larger countries. Member countries of ACWW include Australia. Christmas Is- land (Kiribati), Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solo- mon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Western Samoa. There are a total of 35 societies in the ll countries in the South Pacific Area. ACWW Representation Three world presidents have called the South Pacific home. Dame Alice Berry from Australia was first elected in 1953 in Toronto. then re-elected in Ceylon in 1956. In I977 Dame Raigh Roe of Aus- tralia was elected President in Nairobi. Valerie Fisher, also from Australia, was first elected in Kansas City in 1989, then re-elected in The Hague. Special Activities Societies celebrate World Rural Women’s Day on October 15 in a variety of ways. Some hold special functions in cities, including displays. In 1998 socie- ties in Australia distributed antiâ€"domestic violence kits for rural women. Other so- cieties hold “bring and buy stalls." 8 Home I. Country, fall '99 Some societies provide scholarships and bursaries to encourage medical stu» dents to get practical rural experience by going to the country. Others sponsor women from Papua New Guinea to attend the South Pacific Commission Training College in Fiji to learn about home eco- nomics, family health, horticulture, crafts and small business management. In South Australia, training sessions include first aid and basic mechanics for aboriginal women, as well as pattern designing and dress-making. In Australia the promotion of wool is a major project. It was the Country Women's Association (CWA) that lob- bied successfully to have a woman appointed to the Australian Wool Board since 1974. Many members have contrib- uted knitted products to “Teddies for Tragedies" and to the children of Cher- nobyl. Projects funded by ACWW in the South Pacific include literacy, shade cloth hous» ing, growing orchids in stones and pots for income generation. beekeeping and honey making. water tanks, preschool facilities and leadership training. Spatial Proiects More information about the childhood health-care project in the South Pacific Area may be found in the April, 1999 issue of The Countrywoman. This project in Papua New Guinea is one of the 23 ACWW development projects initiated in 1997. Another was the teaching of mate» rials/textile production at the Nungalinya College in Australia. This and other proâ€" jects are described in the 1997 ACWW Annual Report. o be light to a white back~ member's as, number, me of the So- p'e securely Putting the Fun into Fund Raising Silver Maple WI celebrated WI Week with a Soup and Bingo Lunch. The group earned extra money by selling the leftover soup and biscuits. and two families received “Meals on Wheels." Everyone participated in "The Number of Pickles in the Pickle Jar Contest." (We’ve also guessed how many raisins were in a pie!) There were draws for prizes and Bingo Games as long as there were millennium quarters and cookies to be won. The Lunch was a great social tim and money was raised for FWIO. ' Submitted by Lorna McGrarh, SilverMaple WI. Simco Centre.