A C W W

I would like to draw your attention to three matters of significant importance to ACWW:

1.ACWW KOINS FOR KOREA

The project that we have chosen to support is aimed at women and children in the Jeju region of South Korea, a small community that has a substantial amount of handicapped women.

The aim of the project is to organise an educational programme for anti-smoking and medicinal poisoning prevention, also to extend an education programme for women in farming and fishing communities and to include education and protection for the mentally handicapped.  There will also be welfare work among children and the aged,  To date there have been excellent results from projects putting handicapped women in the way of making a living, promoting wholesome cultural environment for the youth and leading women to reduce the use of chemicals in farming.  The aims are to provide skills training and welfare services to make the communities more self-supportive and self-reliant.

The project will be executed in three phases.  First the women will participate.  Then work will be done with youths in 4 high schools, 2 for girls and 2 for boys.  Finally local leaders will be trained up to continue the work after the completion of the project.

As this is a purely educational project it will not generate income and therefore needs all the support we can give.  Many communities in South Korea are largely forgotten by the national government and we have a chance to make a real difference to their future wellbeing.

Many of you will know that the origins of this fund go back many years to 1939 when it was introduced to the London Conference (4^th Triennial World Conference) by Mrs Godfrey Drage J.P. She was the Vice President (since renamed Area President) for the British Isles at the time. The fund has grown steadily since those early days and now represents a significant part of ACWW’s income. Donations received are used to support the objectives of the charity including projects and project related costs.

3. Working with Women Worldwide — Highlights of 75 Years of ACWW

This book was launched in 2004 at the 24^th Triennial Conference in Hobart, Tasmania. It is a valuable record of the organisation and its highlights over the years since its origins at the International Conference of Rural Women in London in 1929 to the present day.

The publication is extensively illustrated with pictures of the founders of the organisation — Lady Aberdeen, Mrs Madge Watt and Miss Elsie Zimmern -- and noteworthy events throughout the years. The launch of the ACWW’s own journal -~ Countrywoman is described on page 11 of the book.