“What we lack in size we make up for in enthusiasm.”
You can tell from the passion in Irene Mosley’s voice that this is one of the fundamental beliefs that has allowed Positively Clutha Women to grow and succeed over the last ten years. Although this group of inspirational women has always believed that they could achieve big things, it was by attending the TrustPower National Community Awards that this group truly realised just how much this small town team could achieve if they put their mind to it.
Positively Clutha Women was established in 1997 out of a need identified during the rural downturn of the mid 1990s. It was discovered that many rural women were facing increasing burdens as farm incomes dropped and that the balancing act of family, partner, work and farm commitments were becoming increasingly difficult.
Positively Clutha Women’s mission statement is: “To provide opportunities to empower, develop and involve all women of the Clutha District to help them reach their full potential.”
Positively Clutha Women held its first Rural Women’s Week in 1998 and over the years this has grown to be the highest profile event on Balclutha’s calendar and Positively Clutha Women’s main focus each year.
Rural Women’s Week is an effective way to highlight the needs of women and help them realise that they can make changes in their life with the right help and support. The first Rural Women’s Week in 1998 catered for 500 people…in 2006 more than 2,000 tickets were sold to various events, involving more than 8,000 people. As part of the week a raft of activities are on offer including: computer classes; wearable arts; working women’s lunches; rural focus days; keynote speakers such as Dame Susan Devoy, Celia Lashlie, Miranda Harcourt and Hon Helen Clark (just to name a few); and a number of combined initiatives with the South Otago Theatrical Society.
Through Rural Women’s Week, Positively Clutha Women has contributed more than $350,000 to the local economy and has helped raise around $45,000 for community groups and organisations through joint initiatives.
It was the sheer determination, dedication and initiative of the volunteers involved in this group which won Positively Clutha Women the Supreme Award at the 2003 TrustPower Clutha District Community Awards. Positively Clutha Women then went on to represent the District at the TrustPower National Community Awards in March 2004.
Positively Clutha Women spokesperson Irene Mosley says they were incredibly motivated by their experience at the TrustPower National Community Awards.
“We saw what voluntary groups around the country had achieved and we realised that we could do things that we thought would be too big for a community of our size to tackle,” says Irene.
Since then, Positively Clutha Women has grown and developed more than anyone could have predicted.
While Rural Women’s Week continues to be a main focus for the group, they are now heavily involved in all aspects of community development. Positively Clutha Women has been awarded a number of contracts, including a contract with Clutha Health Inc to provide a community wellness programme which involves running about three to four events a month to promote health and wellbeing in the district.
While Positively Clutha Women’s key words are still empowerment, involvement and development, they are now undertaking to service more than just Clutha women. A number of their events attract men and many of the projects this group takes on are for the entire community.
“One such project was to build a new boat ramp and public access, improving community access to the river. We saw this was a resource the community needed and thought we could do something about it,” says Irene.
Other projects include running an annual community concert in the park on Waitangi Day and organising an Artistry Walk in the park for Children’s Day, where art from children around the district was hung in the park for the public to enjoy. |
