PAM, 
 
 MISC.- 
 
 /fS f 
 
 News of the Year 
 
 1914-1915 
 
 Japan, China, 
 India, Turkey, 
 South America 
 
 National Board of Young Womens Christian Associations 
 600 Lexington Avenue, New York City 
 October, 1915 
 
NEWS OF THE YEAR 1914-1915 
 
 T HE past year, unique in history, has deeply 
 affected all our Associations. Not alone the 
 European work has suffered, but those countries 
 in which our foreign department labors, have felt 
 its influence. In some fields, difficulties and cur¬ 
 tailments have been necessary, but there have 
 been with the difficulties, greater opportunities for 
 helpfulness. From all lands is indicated the great 
 need of the work of the Association among women 
 and girls in this particular year, and the oppor¬ 
 tunities for the coming year are yet greater and may 
 be met if we can secure the re-inforcements that 
 are needed. 
 
 JAPAN 
 
 J APAN has from the first been characterized by 
 the quiet, steady growth of the Association. 
 Tokio has been made the model Association for 
 the empire. Its work includes two student hostels 
 always filled with earnest students, the Travelers’ 
 Aid Work, reaching thousands of women on their 
 journeys, neighborhood work in the vicinity of the 
 Association where evangelistic meetings are held 
 and a playground is eagerly visited by poor chil¬ 
 dren. The administration building, so long looked 
 for, will be ready for occupancy this fall. Instead 
 of the crowded little room, not large enough to 
 
hold the growing Bible classes, and the inadequate 
 space for lectures, there will now be a center for 
 these important things. All the activities of the 
 Association have their religious import. Thirty- 
 nine voluntary Bible classes, of which nine are 
 normal in character, meet weekly. Classes for 
 Bible training and a reference library for leaders 
 are training hundreds of women for Sunday school 
 work, which is one of the special features of the 
 Association in Japan. The twenty-three Sunday 
 schools are conducted by seven Associations, 
 supervised by Japanese, and five other Associations 
 assist in twenty-five more Sunday schools. The 
 work in factories where women often work from 
 six in the morning until nine at night is bearing 
 fruit. During the year one hundred and fifty girls 
 have become Christians. The summer conference 
 had two hundred and eleven delegates from twenty- 
 eight schools, twelve of which were other than 
 mission schools. It included girls from three 
 dormitories, one of which was independent. Nurses 
 from two hospitals were also in attendance. Several 
 organizations have resulted from the impetus 
 gained from the conference. Throughout the 
 year, the members have been diligently sewing 
 and knitting for the famine sufferers in Japan, as 
 well for the soldiers who have taken part in the 
 present war. 
 
 CHINA 
 
 HE past year has been an outstanding one. 
 
 1 More changes and real progress have been 
 made than in any previous year. Of the three 
 city Associations, Shanghai, Tientsin and Canton, 
 the latter two have suffered because of the depletion 
 of their staff. Three secretaries have been married, 
 
the one loaned by the Presbyterian Mission has 
 returned to her own work, and two secretaries 
 were in America. The Association in Canton has 
 suffered most, but re-inforcements are on the way 
 to give new impetus to the work. Among the 
 encouraging features is a splendid group of Chinese 
 women who are allying themselves to the move¬ 
 ment, as members of the board of directors, and as 
 secretaries. The educational work in Shanghai 
 and Tientsin has been very successful. Membership 
 rallies have been held in both cities, bringing not 
 only new members, but a larger Association spirit. 
 The physical work in Shanghai under Miss Chun 
 and in Tientsin under Miss Derry, has been laying 
 preparation for the school for physical directors 
 which is soon to be opened under Miss Mayhew’s 
 leadership. The first supervised playground for 
 children was established during the year through 
 the co-operation of the Honorable Mr. C. C. Nieh, 
 together with his wife and mother, who gave their 
 gardens weekly for the use of the children. A 
 committee of Chinese ladies give volunteer work 
 in its supervision. The religious department in 
 the city Associations, has been splendidly fruitful. 
 Bible classes are held in Tientsin and Shanghai, 
 and in Foochow although the Association is not 
 yet organized there. In Shanghai, a Sunday 
 afternoon service is held for non-Christian women. 
 This is attended by from seventy to one hundred 
 women weekly. The claims of Christ are being 
 thus put before hundreds of Chinese women, 
 otherwise untouched by Christian teaching. 
 Student work is a regular department of the work 
 in each city. Special student headquarters are 
 rented in Foochow and Tientsin, in which Bible 
 classes and social gatherings are held. In Tientsin, 
 the first Association in a government school was 
 organized in the Government Normal School. It 
 includes over one hundred students and teachers 
 all enrolled in Bible classes. A series of evange¬ 
 listic meetings have been held by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Eddy in which Miss Paxson also had part, and 
 this has met with great success. Summer Confer¬ 
 ences in 1914 were held at Wo Fu Ssu and at Soo- 
 chow, having in attendance more than two hundred, 
 some of whom were from government schools. 
 
INDIA, CEYLON, BURMAH, AND 
 
 THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 
 
 Association movement in Southern Asia is 
 
 1 under the direction of the Indian National 
 Council, and is more fnlly developed than else¬ 
 where in the East. Many of the cities own their 
 own buildings, the majority of the membership are 
 Anglo-Indians and Europeans, but there are also 
 Indians, Burmese, Singalese and Chinese. A large 
 student department includes hundreds of school 
 girls and women students, the majority of whom 
 are Indians. A vernacular department under the 
 Council directs Association work among non- 
 English speaking members not included in the 
 student department. 
 
 Foremost, naturally, among the most prominent 
 activities of the past year has been war relief. 
 Aliens, including missionaries have been interned 
 and the Association has had charge of thousands 
 of gifts and parcels not only for the wives and 
 children of British soldiers and sailors, but for the 
 comfort of those of other European nations, the 
 women and children of German and Austrian men, 
 who are in detention camps. The Indian women 
 who are members have made many garments by 
 hand, being too poor to afford sewing machines. 
 Bombay and Calcutta have had classes in domestic 
 science and at the request of the government, 
 training for teachers was given in Bombay for 
 European, Parsee, Hindu and Indian women. 
 Singapore has given much attention to Bible 
 study, holding a conference on Bible study. Girl 
 guides are well organized in Madras, Bombay and 
 Lahore. The student department staff has been 
 sorely depleted and it has been impossible to do 
 the visitation among the student Associations 
 needed. There have been some encouraging feat¬ 
 ures in the work, however. A camp for students 
 in North India was held November, 1914, at 
 Debra Dun with twenty-six in attendance and 
 there is reason for much thankfulness for the 
 spiritual results of this gathering. 
 
Almost every student Association carries on 
 some form of Bible study, several have monthly 
 missionary meetings and in one or two places 
 there are bands of Student Volunteers. Various 
 forms of practical service are increasingly carried 
 on, such as teaching in Sunday schools, teaching 
 servants, helping in zenana work, visiting hospitals 
 and leper asylums, sewing for Indian soldiers in 
 France and for hospitals. Two Associations 
 supported orphans. Prayer meetings are held 
 regularly in most of the student Associations. The 
 World’s Week of Prayer and the universal Day of 
 Prayer for Students are two occasions on which 
 there is a wide-spread effort to deepen and extend 
 the practice of intercession That which impresses 
 one most in reviewing the Association movement 
 in India in all its departments is its practical, 
 Christ-like character manifesting itself not alone 
 in its spirit but in boarding and holiday homes, 
 travelers’ aid, and employment agencies. 
 
 TURKEY 
 
 Young Women’s Christian Association has 
 
 1 passed through a most difficult year. One of the 
 two secretaries, Miss Anna Welles, was unable to 
 return to Constantinople in the beginning of last 
 year, and while working later in Paris, has re¬ 
 signed and is since married. Miss Gage, the 
 traveling secretary, made very successful tours in 
 Asia Minor during the spring, meeting with wel¬ 
 come from Greeks, Armenians, Copts and other 
 nationalities whenever she sounded the note of 
 women’s helpfulness for the nation. However 
 further visitation was impossible because of the 
 war conditions, and her winter was spent in 
 Marsovan, carrying on her work by correspondence 
 and giving much time to relief work in this most 
 needy part of the world. “ The end of the Asso¬ 
 ciation year,’’ she writes, “brings many interesting 
 experiences in student life. New cabinets are 
 forming and it is gratifying to note the increasing 
 sense of honor with which the girls take on their 
 new offices.’’ 
 
While all our foreign secretaries are specially 
 needing prayer in these difficult days, none more 
 than Miss Gage, who in special isolation and 
 danger, has bravely been doing her best to serve 
 the women and girls of the Turkish Empire. 
 
 ARGENTINA 
 
 DEMOTE from the scene of conflict, Buenos Aires 
 has felt deeply the effects of the War. The 
 securing of adequate financial support has been 
 almost impossible. Many of the girls in the Asso¬ 
 ciation have been obliged to leave the city, because 
 of loss of employment and the secretarial staff is 
 much depleted. But with all these discourage¬ 
 ments, there are some very real encouragements. 
 The loyalty and devotion of the staff is proven, 
 the work of the finance committee and the co¬ 
 operation of the Argentine department continues. 
 Religious work and travelers’ aid work, so essen¬ 
 tial in a city like Buenos Aires, continues. Of 
 especial interest is the “ Department of Legal 
 Advice”, in which Dr. A. del Campo Wilson gives 
 consultation to young women without charge. 
 Numbers of difficulties have been straightened out 
 in this way. A successful bazaar under the auspices 
 of the Argentine Department gave encouraging 
 results not only in money raised, but in the 
 interest and helpfulness and co-operation, shown 
 by members and friends. 
 
 TO SUM UP 
 
 This year has witnessed the following put under 
 appointment, sailing this autumn of 1915 : 
 
 One secretary for Japan 
 Seven secretaries for China 
 Two secretaries for India. 
 
 During the coming year, we need the most 
 earnest co-operation of each Association member and 
 friend in extending the kingdom of God through 
 the Association work in Asia and South America. 
 We shall need at least twelve secretaries and their 
 support, funds for the completion of the Tokio 
 building and money for a building in Shanghai. 
 
Including vernacular branches, 30. 
 
 China 
 
 India 
 
 Japan 
 
 j Argentina 
 
 | So. America 
 
 Turkey 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 Total No. 
 sec’ys sent 
 under World’s 
 Committee 
 
 — V>J O' cO OD 
 
 Number of 
 American 
 secretaries 
 
 42 
 
 155* 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
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 « 
 
 3 
 
 65 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 City 
 
 Associations 
 
 39 
 
 60 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 19 
 
 Student 
 
 Associations 
 
 1900 
 
 9570 
 
 2809 
 
 500 
 
 1325 
 
 Total 
 
 membership 
 
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 Number 
 
 summer 
 
 conferences 
 
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