How
often do we say "my back is killing me?" I thought about this
recently, in Tanzania, when I witnessed so many back breaking jobs as women
went about their daily tasks.
Back
home and hoping for signs of spring, it is time to think about planting out my
cabbages. Maybe not yet, but on the shores of Lake Victoria vegetables are
planted on a two-month rotation, so there is always a crop to harvest as well
as one to plant. The soil is rich, but water is difficult to bring to the
fields. As a man moved the hose-pipe from plot to plot, the women carrying
buckets on their heads, wanted to stop and chat, "You are welcome in
our village". Women at work, building a sense of community. The cabbages
being planted, I noticed, look much like ours; but the hazards are different.
We were warned to expect a noisy night if elephants from the nearby Serengeti
had to be chased off and I saw footprints across the fields from Africa's
deadliest animal, the hippopotamus. But none of the locals expected the 15 foot
python we chanced upon whilst walking through the reed beds and which horrified
them; as well as providing an obvious explanation of the goat that had gone
missing.
The
welcome had been the same when we stood in line to join the Maasai women
singing, days earlier. They taught me how to flip or toss the traditional
women's Maasai collar (the action, it turns out, is in the shoulders, not the
bosom). A useful skill now I am back in Norfolk? The Norfolk Women Reaching
Women community has been preparing for Norfolk's 2018 International Woman's
Day. In many countries
IWD, March 8th, is the day when mothers are given flowers and in some countries
it is a public holiday. This year,
thanks to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, we are combined the event with our
traditional flower-giving day: Mothering Sunday, March 11th.
Consisting
of over a dozen organisations; NWRW is convened by Norfolk Federation WIs and
we have celebrated International Women's Day and Norfolk's equality and
diversity together for some years. Amongst over twenty organisations, we
include: the WI, Mother's Union, Soroptimists,
Norwich Dedza Partnership and the Daisy Project. This
year's event was called "Lighting the Flame" with an educational
theme that is both a UN sustainable development goal and part of the WI aim to
offer a wide range of learning opportunities. “Girls who see the flame lit
by their mothers will one day light the fire for their own children.” said
Patience Unazi of Diversity Plus, who had hand crafted items on sale as well as
entertaining us with African story telling.
Our Keynote
Speaker was Janet Clark of Gambian Aid Through Education, another local
charity, that helps some of the poorest people in Africa by selling their
handicrafts. "By
helping the women in The Gambia we can get more children into education which
is the path from poverty." Other locally based charities included The
Freedom Charity working to prevent FGM in UK and organisations working with
Norfolk women who have low self esteem: “This is a fantastic opportunity to
network with other women’s organisations.” Mandy Proctor CEO, Leeway.
Part
of the annual Mothering Sunday event, Miriam
Burroughs, of Gressenhall, told us: "The spring flowers are coming into
bloom so spend some precious time together exploring our 50 acre site. There
were activities for the whole family including stalls, crafts, talks, singing
and story-telling. There was also be a chance to look behind the scenes at the
Norfolk Collections Centre. And in the Mardlers’ Rest Café, a treat awaied with
a free cream tea for all mothers!"
Much of what mothers and women do, around the world is
back-breaking, but on this day over 20 organisations met together today, in
friendship and sisterhood.
·
It was good to meet old friends and new.
·
It was good to hear familiar tales and new.
·
It was good to see connections being made and
remade.
Let us continue to support each other in future endeavours!
Many thanks Gressenhall for their generosity of
time and effort.
Thank-you, so
much, everyone.
Participants in Norfolk IWD 2018
NORFOLK WOMEN REACHING WOMEN (NWRW)
Norfolk Federation of Women's Institutes (Conveners)
Associated Country Women of the World
Daisy Programme
Diversity Plus
Equal Lives
Freedom Charity
Gambian Aid Through Education
Girlguiding Norfolk
Leeway
Mothers' Union
NCC Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator
Norwich Dedza
Nurtured Naturally
Samia Malik
School Readers
Soroptimists
Women Against State Pension Inequality
Women's Equality Party
Women's International League of Peace and Freedom
Woodcraft Folk
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