A column by Tariana Turia

MP for Te Tai Hauauru

28 July 2009

Two weeks ago, I was sitting in my electorate office, when suddenly a lightning bolt struck. 

Well two actually - Fee (Fiona) Ali - the manager of YWCA Whanganui - and her co vice-president Amy Benfell. They leapt into my office and asked me to be Patron. How could I say no?

I have a very fond association with the YWCA which spans back some 33 years when I was appointed to the role of the recreational officer. It was a fantastic job.

I was young, proactive and very happy to be active. We ran Walk for Health programmes; we had after-school programmes, an early childhood playgroup and a holiday programme at Castlecliff camp and other venues.

I was also working with rangatahi up at Girls College and running a culture group at the same time.

I remember one holiday programme, we had a bus full of energetic young people, on the road to visit the steam engine museum at Linton when suddenly the bus broke down.

Never fear - YWCA was here - and so we flagged down a stock truck, herded all our kids on to the back of the truck, and continued without a hitch.

It's amazing to see the transformation of the organisation since it first started as the Women's Friendly Club in 1939.

I think one of the amazing things I know about the YWCA is the way in which it responds to meet the changing needs of the community.

There was probably no more visible marker of this than during the war years, when the association devoted much of its time to the needs of women engaged in various spheres of war work.

Fast forward to 2009, and it's wonderful to see the YWCA is just as committed as ever to responding to the aspirations of the women who come to this organisation.

But there's other needs which have emerged - such as ante-natal classes for young parents or the Encore exercise programme for women recovering from breast cancer.

And what has been particularly exciting for me, is to the watch the YWCA evolve into a champion of social justice issues. 

But most of all, the YWCA has never wavered in its quest to empower women to reach their full potential.

End