vi,_. \ vA »aJ V . Before Him Shall be Gathered AU the Nations” iiV'v; Association Life the World Around By the Foreign Department National Board Young Womens Christian Associations National Board OF THE Young womens Christian Associations, United States of America 600 Lexington Avenue. New York 1914 r ASSOCIATION LIFE THE WORLD AROUND By tlie Foreign DeiJartment National Board Young Womens Christian Assoeiations L'nited States WORLD’S YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION I'lie Yoiinfi Women's Christian Association is tlie most international, most inclusive in faith, broadest in scojje, largest and most democratic organization of women in the world. riie World's organization is an affiliation of N.\ ri()N.S in which the work of the Young Women's Christian Asso- ciations is done. Its head(iuarters are in I.ondon. 'I'he World's Association is a cle.aring house and council of reference in all matters affecting Association work in two or more countries. The committee also takes the initiative in ojjening work in unorganized nations. The resident executive committee of the World's Association is British. The World's traveling secretary is •American. Eighteen countries with organized natiomd work have part in the World's Association and scattered branches are found in fifteen additional countries. E,very four years is held a conference of World's Associations. This year the confereiice meets in Stockholm, Sweden, .June 10-18. The foreign work of each country is conducted by ;i sjjecially organized department under its own national direction. ■Membership of the World's Association is t)00,000. 'J'he nund)er of branches is about 8,000. .Membership in the United States is ‘280, .>97. In the foreign work. Great Britain sujjplies 28 secret.aries ; Camula 1 ; United .States 82; Australia 1 ; Germany I. Headqi'arters Buii.uings OF THE National Board of the Young Womens Christian Associations OF THE United States of America Training S< hooi. loj East j"2i) Street Administrative Offices (500 Lexington Avenue 3 IMTEl) STATF.S I'lie Youn< 4 ' WoDU'irs Cliristian Association of tlie United States is under tlie direction of a National Board. I'his Board is composed of thirty inend)ers resident in New York City, and of a certain nund)er of non-resident members re))resentin<>' various territorial divisions of the United States. The United States is divided for efficiency, economy and facility of work into eknen fields, each of which is directed by its own committee. The national work is divided into eioht departments co-ordinated for undertaking' the followino': Trainino' of secretaries. I’ldilications to meet the need (»f the held. Work ill foreign lands. Summer eonferenees and conventions. I’roeurino' and disiiensini; of the necessary funds. (leneral suiiervision of organizations in cities, colleges, in rural districts, in industrial centers, among professional women, among colored women, among Indian women, among immigrant women. Nimiher of city and town Associations, ‘ilti. Numher of student Associations, tiSf. Number of countj' .Associations, 8. During 1913 there Mere eleven summer conferences with a total enrollment of 1-,131, representing 191 cities and 55'2 colleges. The national budget for 191 t is t43 t,0()0. Of this $ t(),8()‘2.,50 is assigned for foreign work. 4 FOREIGN DKl’AH'rMKNT OF 'I'HE NATIONAL ROARl) OF THE YOING WOMENS CHRIS'll AN ASSOCIATIONS OF I'HE UNITED STATES Fersonnel of Coniinittee: Miss Mantle Daeniker Mrs. R. Dorman Mrs. John French Mrs. Thomas S. Gladdinj? Miss Gertrude MacArtliur Mrs. Frederick Mead Mrs. Jolm K. Mott Miss Grace Dodge Miss .\imie Reynolds ]\Irs. Finley J. Sliepard ^Irs. William F. Slocum Mrs. Augustus B. M'adsworth Miss Bertha Coiule Miss Caroline B. Dow ■Miss Harriet Taylor Miss Susan Clute The foreion department trains, commissions and su])ports secretaries in non-self-supporting countries. These sec- retaries are sent out on request from the national committees in these countries, and the.v are directed in their work by the committee of the country to which they go. .Vmerican secretaries now abroad : INDIA Beatrice Cron. Margery Melcher. ^lary E. Rutherford, Cdlnitfa. Florence Denison, Martha C. Whealdon, Marie B. Snow, Bomhay. I.ela Guitner (on fnrhmyh). Mailnm. Jessie E. Mather, AUaluihail . Florence Bodley I.ang, Colombo, Ceylon. Laura Radford, Sinyapore, Straifa Settlement. CHINA Grace L. Coppock, Abby Shaw Mayhew, Harriet M. Smith, Ruth Paxson. Frances L. Taft, Jane S. Ward, Shanyhai. Katharine King. Theresa Severiu. Pekiny. *Mary P. Banks. Henrietta Thomson. Canton. Helen Bond Crane. Edith Ma}' Wells. Ponusany, Foorhoir. Ethel Pyke. Evelyn Thaj’er Derry, Tientsin. ^Loaned l>y Presbyterian Mission JAP.\N Margaret IMatthew (on fnrUtnyh). iMary Page, Mary C. Baker, Ruth Ragau. Tokyo. .SOUTH AMERIC.V Marj’ L. Thomas (on furlonyli). Irene Sheppard (on fnrlonyh). Persis M. Breed. Elisa Cortez. Bnenos Ait'e.s, ryentinn. TURKEY Frances C. Gage, Marsnran , Tn rkey-in-A sia . Anna Welles, Constantinople. WHKRK WKS'I’ M KKTS EAST Or iK\T Ai. Students AP Silver Hay CoNFEREM E 'I’otal number ot Oriental students in tlie I'nited States is 101 ; of tliese O 1 at- tended the summer eonferenees of lOl.'!. Tlie I'nited States lias uni(|ue opportun- it\' and responsibility to the Oriental stu- dents in her eollejies and universities. JAPAN For fifty jears Japan lias been straining every nerve in liei- effort to go into every nation and find tliere the best, to bring it back and build it into her own life The result so fai’ is such that Japan now feels herself better eipiiiiped materially than spiritually." Dr. .John K. Mott has said that he feels that the student field of .Japan is now as eager for the gos])cl as it ever was in the early times of the great religious awakening there. .Japan has had an extensive educational system for women for more than a ipiarter of a century. I'liis includes schools of liigher learning. There are now many educated women in Jai>;in remark.able in their willingness to lead the movement for young women. The industrial condition in .Japan has, during the last ten years, developed much like that in America. I'liese women in imlustry are facing lives for which tradition and training leave them utterly unpre])ared. There are great o|)])ortunities for work among industrially emjiloyed women. .Ja])an is the first foreign country to call and su|Ji>ort a National .Secretary, a .Japanese, who is a graduate of Bryn Mawr. 'J'he N.ational Committee, the Summer Conference and Magazine Committee are almost entirely .Japanese. The work in Ja])an includes eighteen student branches, and organized work in two cities, w ith a total membershi]) of about ‘2, 000. 'I’he Fiighth Annual Student Conference of 22k delegates was held during the past ye.ar. The monthly magazine has now a circulation of about 1,000. It is jjrinted in .Ja])anese. .1 A PA X Drawing Hooin and Library, National Hea(l()iiartt"rs YOKOHAMA ?’>ight thousand .Japanese women are engaged in sliops, offices and industries in this one important port city of Japan. Owing to the demand of botli emijloyers and emjjloyees for more suitable protection and accommo- dation for Japanese young women, the Association began an indige- nous work in Yokoliama. It lias its own building with a .lajianese secretary in charge. Group at Japanese Summer Conference, 1913 9 TOK YO riie capital of .Japan is a rendezvous of students, liavin|)licd by the Overtoun fund and one by Ottawa, Canada, have in their enrollment representatives from over one-half the schools of Tokyo. f’he matrons of the hostels are .Jap.anese. ,\ third hostel provided by \dissar College is under construction. rwenty-seven Mihle classes for students have an enrollment of "ifO. The social work of the 'I'okyo Association is one of its most effective departments. A social center “ is hein<>' |)lanned in the heart of the student residence district. \ work amoii”' ,Ia|)anese nurses in Tokyo is in its inception. There is a pension or residential club eonducted by the Association and open to foreifi'ners : — i. e. Western women in 'J’okyo. 10 TOKYO Nurses in Bible Class INDIA, HUKMA AND CFALOX liuliii is a country of fifty nations witliin a nation, under Hritisli rule, witli tlie Englisli language the general inediuin of connnunication. Tliere are three classes of the population : I. Colonial: British [)eople in official or business positions in India. ‘2. *Anglo-lndian : A i)eople of mixed blood, who form a distinct social class. ;5. Indians — including Hindus, Mohammedans, I’arsees and Christians, strong tenacity to hold to religions of the nation — Brahmanism, Buddhism, .Mohammedanism, to racial ])ride .and philosophic superiorit.v — is slowly yielding to modern thought. M'hether holding go\ernmental or nationalistic sympathies, all thinking men of Indi.a concede th.at India's need is something tliat will meet the growing unrest of its divergent ])oi)ulaee. There are under the Indi.an N.ational Committee se\enteen city Associ.ations, in the work in seven of wliich .America has a share. The number of student brandies is ;TS, many of which exist in the jirincipal mission schools of the emiiire. Twenty-four student br.anches are among Indian young women. The whole of India has 800 young women in institutions of college standing — these .all can be surrounded by Cliristian influence at the present time. Student and city cainjis for young women are held annually. Tlie National Committee of Indi.a publishes helps for its .Association members in F.nglisb and in several vernacular languages. Indi.a has its own n.ational publication called 'The A'oung Women of India.'’ *.Anglo-liKlian — Tliis term was adopted in l‘)i:5 by the British government in India to supersede the term "Kurasian.” INDIA Street in Indian City MADINAS A Social Gatlierinff Situated in lieat-baked South India, Madras stands third in population ainoiifj Indian cities. Madras has a population of ,S,00() Anolo- Indians. Association work has been carried on for twenty-one years in Madras. I'en br.anches of work, some of whicli are for 'I'ainil youno- women, are carried on in eight sections of the city. Two student hostels are crowded, one being for Indian students, and one for Europeans and Anglo-Indians. Madras has its own news sheet for its mem- bership of 7dS. Its mission-study classes include the study of the Indian religions. u 'I'his city is in the Central Provinces of India ; thej' cover an area equal to that of the British Isles. Its ))opulation is 118 , 000 . Tlie activities of the Association include educational classes, fortnightly socials, tennis, hadininton, cooking, debates, lectures, Bible classes and i)hysical work. Four Bible classes are conducted in the ver- nacular. 'I'he girl guides are a distinctive feature of the Allahabad work. A LLAMA HA I) Association Building I’arsee Ladies The Parsees are of Persian origin and form a distinctively hif>li class of society. The universities of Great Britain have a special mission to Parsee students. Bombay, on the west coast of India, is the city from whieli Moliainmedan pilgrimages start to Mecca. It was the first city of India to own its own building. 'I'he i)rovision the Association makes for the home life of the young women is supported by the entire community. It has a membership of 7.H enrolled in live branches. The .\ssociation home accommo- dates 8f residents. Twenty Bible classes are held weekly. In the hills it maintains a holiday home for its members. Three Indian Bible women are employed to work in the mills. Bombay has the beginning of phj'sical work. C A IX (ITT A ’I'liis city on the east coast of liuUa is a oung married women and others mIio cannot comply with the rc(|uirements of mission schools. Physical work of the Association is under the direction of a Chinese. The Association provides hostel accommodation for five women. During the battles of the past summer thirty women were crowded into the building, taking refuge from the bullets. Since the beginning the Chinese secretary has been one main source of the strength of the Association. There are now three Chinese secretaries, all of whom had education abroad. The rented Association building is crowded jiast crowding; it is totally unsuited to the work of the Association. Search for three years of the available buildings of Shanghai has not resulted in the fimling of a suitable house. Hundreds of women could be reached monthly if a building with an audience hall, gymnasium and sufficient number of classrooms were provided. The need of a building for the Shanghai Association is the most pressing need of the work in China today. CAXTOX Canton lias a i)o]nilation of 'i, ()()(), ()()(). It is tlie most jirooressive c'ity in China. Canton lias more Imspitals, more women physicians tlian any otlier city. Tlie Association of Canton was organized at tlie initia- tive of Chinese ladies alone. Association heathpiarters are |)lanned for and supjiorted without the aid of Westerners. The I’resbyterian Mission has loaned one of its experi- enced workers as secretary for two years. The Chinese ladies of the Canton Association Board are eager for a hostel for traveling women ; fora membership campaign ; for an educational department; fora large social work ; for a student hostel ; and for the develo|)ment of Bible classes in government schools. It is imperative that secretaries be supplied at once to guide in this ilevelo|)inent. One of Canton's Citv Oates TURKEY The Buffer State between Hast and \\'est, 'l'url' Turk is also the era for the awakeninii; of 'I'lirkish womanhood. Cities of I’lirkey, sehools in Turkey, are eomiirised of a varyino’ number of races. Missionsehoolshave provided all thewomen that are available for leadership in the Chris- tian work among their own ]ieo|)les. The World's Student Christian Federation Conference awakened an intelligent interest among Greek, Catholic and Trotestant leaders for their student classes. 'The Young Women's Christian .Association in the fall of liU.‘? sent two secretaries to 'Turkey ; one for Constantinople, one to travel among the city and student branches in 'Turkey-in- Asia. 'Turkish Women SOI TH AMERICA I'liis continent embraces new, nii}>lity and tbnnative nations. Tliere is one cluircli to which tlie i>eoi)le ijive nominal alle- giance, while almost totally ignoring any religious chiims. Society has tew conventional and moral safeguards for women. There is a continuously growing stream of young women to the port cities of South America froTii all the countries of Fical Street of Buenos Aires 28 BUENOS AIRES A Cooking Class, 15 Nationalities 'I’lie cityis tlie inetroj)olis of’lialf tliecontinent. Its populatimi is one and a (piarter million. It is the largest Spanish-si)eaking city in the woidd. It dominates Argentina. d'o reach Buenos Aires is to influence the leading re]nd)lic of South America. Into its harbor come women from all the nations seeking employment. The Young Women’s Christian Association seeks to create for the young women of Buenos Aires a physical and moral environment that shall meet the needs of their cosmopolitan life. Limited by the extreme high cost of living, such accommodations as the Association provides for lodging, lunches and educational classes are overcrowded. One-third of the work is conducted in the Spanish language; two of the secretarial staff are Spanish speaking. Themembershipincludes women of "23nations. OTHER COrXTKIES AEEIIJATEI) ^VITH WOliED S COAEMITTEE Africa. Tliis vast vontinent lias distinctive work in Nortli Africa at Cairo, on the British CLast Coast and on the West Coast, while South Africa has a higidy orjranized city and student work that includes Hritisli, Dutcli and nejim branches. The work in North, East and West Africa is directly under the WorUEs Coininittee. 'I’hat in South Africa is under national organization. Australia. This colonial continent is jiroirressive in its work for women as in all other affairs. Their National Board emiiloys an American National secretary, and two Americans are holding jiositions as general secretaries of city organizations. A newly organized foreign department is taking its share in tlie evangelization of non-Christian lands. Austria-Hungary. A feeble but deeply needed work is conducted among these two nationalities in spite of most hampering racial and ecclesiasticid hindrances. Canada. \\ Ork in C'anada is almost identical in its development to that of the L’nited States. Its foreign depart- ment is esjiecially strong, supporting two secretaries abroad, with a membership of 18,ti00. France. In addition to a national city and student work for French women, there are in Paris several branches of the .Association for American and English women, and an international student work, whose membership includes students of ‘2b nations. Germany. The German work was organized by its jiastors, and is under jiarochial supervision. There are at present in Germany ‘200, 000 members who are esjiecially interested in alleviating the conditions of industrial workers. The daughter of the National President of the .Association in Germany has gone this autumn as secretary to Cairo. Great Britain and Ireland. Associatimi work originated in England in 185.5. There are now in the British .Association 1,270 branches with a membershij) of f»b,000. Their work is develojied along the following lines: 30 OTHER COUNTRIES AEEILIATEl) WITH WORLD^S COMMITTEE For juniors, nurses, teacliers, girls in industries, slioj) girls, telegraph and postal eni])loyees (all in government emplo\), governesses, domesties, ^'guild of heliJers"’ (i. e. girls of leisure), foreign girls, and the blind. Soeiallv provision is made by Institutes and homes, holiday homes, convaleseent liomes, travelers* aid, jirayer unions, summer camps, conferences, employment and emigration agencies, '^thrift’* i. e. savings dei)osit against sickness and burial; and total abstinence. Religious work includes home Bible study, weekly and monthly ])eriodicals, yearly calendar and Bible texts, missionary giving, Bible classes, missionary and evangelistic meetings. Holland. The Association in Holland, among other activities, ]jrovides homes for working women. Italy. There is an international home in Rome for Association workers, and 44 lt;dian Associations unite Italy to the World's Work. Poftugal. This Latin country has a scattered work and assists many overworked women in the industries through educational classes and religious care. Russia. An English secretary was sent by the World's Committee last year to St. Petersburg. The work in Russia will necessarily be difficult and slow of development. Scandinavia. The four Scandinavian countries — Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland — have develojjed a strong work for their women in employment, and it is particularly strong in retaining the loyalty of its memljers who migrate to other lands. Switzerland. The work in Switzerland is concerned with large groups of women in industrial employ. Among tlie islands of the sea where the Association is found are THE WEST INDIES, PENANG, MALTA and THE DUTCH INDIES. 31 1