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ASSOCIATED COUNTRY WOMEN OF THE WORLD
Our National Federation was one of the founder members of ACWW. ACWW aims to help country women all over the world by providing money through Pennies for Friendship to complete their development projects such as clean water and growing sustainable crops.
Pennies for Friendship was given this title in 1936 when members were encouraged to give 1d a year in addition to the official dues paid by the societies. This year your Pennies for Friendship total came to £3361.62 Thank you all very much.
For our adopted project in Ghana to provide clean water, toilets and health education we have so far raised £2982 towards the target of £3400. Many thanks for all your efforts. Perhaps you could hold a raffle or coffee morning to help us reach our target.
ACWW were very pleased how all those involved had worked together to complete the first part of the project. Our money goes to ACWW to replace the money already given to the project. The newly elected world president of ACWW is May Kidd from Scotland, who came to our meeting last October.
RESOLUTION FOR 2010
The resolution to be discussed at the May meetings, and voted on at the NFWI AGM will be:
the mandatory clear labelling of food with true country of origin.
‘This meeting urges HM Government to introduce clear and mandatory country of origin labelling on all meat, poultry and fish products sold in this country.’
RESOLUTION BRIEFING MEETING 19 April 2010
John Thomas from the LCC Trading Standard Service opened the meeting with a presentation about the current legislation on the labelling of food packaging. He showed samples of packets containing simple food and a ‘ready meal’. Following the latest in 2008, packaging must show the name of the food, a list of ingredients in order of quantity, the weight or volume, and the durability. It is an offence to leave on sale goods which are beyond their ‘use by’ date, but the ‘best before’ date is advisory only. All should also show the name and address of the manufacturer or packer and/or the seller in the EEC. The main problem is that this may be where the food was finally processed and not its origin. Typically, formed meat products could contain meat from anywhere in the world, but be labelled ‘British’ if the processing was done in the UK. He pointed out that there are no rules about the size or colour of this information, so we may need a magnifying glass! Saying that food is from a ‘monitored farm source’ is not necessarily in the UK. He emphasized that there is no health risk to food on sale, whatever its source. It is up to the buyer to decide on the standards they require and the price they are able to pay. Insisting on more and clearer labels will inevitably increase the prices.
John Willets then spoke about the charity ‘Fareshare’. Up to 7 million people in the UK are affected by low income and at risk of mal- nourishment. He explained how the charity sources surplus food from supermarkets and food manufacturers (still within its ‘use by’ date) and distributes it to groups around the country who support people in need. By pointing out the saving of costs of disposal in landfill sites, they even persuade these sources to contribute to the charity. Currently, Leicester depends on collecting food from main depots in Birmingham and Bristol and have to hire a van each Monday to do so, depending on volunteers. They are fund-raising to find a depot of their own, which would help supply the East Midlands. There are about 70 support groups in the area who benefit from this supply of food. Thus Fareshare is reducing waste going to landfill, and supporting those who cannot afford a healthy diet. Thanks for a most informative meeting.
Wendy Harnett Lyddington WI
WHAT IS THE SPIRE PROJECT?
The Spire Project is a European Union funded project whose purpose is to raise awareness of domestic abuse in rural communities and to learn from each of the partners involved. District sized communities in Greece, Spain, Sweden and Harborough District are the partner organisations. Spire is an important project because of the hidden nature of domestic abuse; this is particularly true in rural areas where isolation, lack of services and social pressure all mean that there is a low level of awareness.
WHY IS THE SPIRE PROJECT SO IMPORTANT?
Domestic abuse maybe described as a “hidden crime” but it is not secret; most people, when they think about it, will know somebody whose life has been touched by either partner violence or some other type of domestic abuse. The aim of Spire is to help communities to be aware of domestic abuse and how it can be addressed.
If you would like a speaker, to hear more about the Spire Project or have an audience for “Apple Pie Order” you can contact us by email: p.conrad@harborough.gov.uk.
The play “Apple Pie Order” was performed at the Which Resolution meeting and was very well received being both thought provoking, and extremely well performed.
CAMPAIGNING SUCCESS STORY
Supermarkets will cut down on ‘needless’ packaging, such as individual wrapping for vegetables and cardboard trays for fruit, after a campaign by the WI. Major food retailers have agreed to cut the carbon footprint of grocery packaging by 10% over the next two years.
(Daily Telegraph)
REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
The Federation is committed to adopting green policies whenever possible, and to informing our members of strategies to combat climate change. Climate Change is the greatest threat mankind has ever faced, and barring a collision with an asteroid, or the eruption of a mega volcano, it will be the most likely cause of the extinction of our species. Unless we all recognise this fact, and encourage our politicians to adopt policies to tackle climate change, we will leave future generations with a planet that can no longer support human life.
We can all do the little things that make a difference, and we can press the governments of the world to do the big things.
If you have any energy saving tips let us know. Here are two for starters:
Cooking - use a pan which is the same size as the cooker ring to prevent heat loss, and ensure that the flame on a gas hob does not splay around the base of the pan and up the sides.
Washing - use a low temperature setting and only wash full loads or a half-load on economy setting.
For more information see www.leics.gov.uk/enable
PENNIES INTO PROJECTS
May Kidd, Deputy President of ACWW – Associated Country Women of the World was the keynote speaker at the recent meeting in South Wigston, and how inspiring she proved to be. She shared many of her experiences as European Area President including a moving account of her visit to Latvia monitoring an ACWW Project. To hear at first hand that our pennies really do make a difference, giving women knowledge that someone does care, was invaluable. The money for the Ghana Project, which is still ongoing, so far amounts to £2,438. This has already made a difference in reducing disease by providing more hygienic facilities.
Our next speaker, Anthony Herbert |