DEAR FRIENDS,
I recently listened to two women chatting about young Guyanese women. One woman, in her forties, said, “They only want to wear flashy clothes and chase after men with money.”

A senior citizen widow and business-woman described how hard women had worked during the years of shortages. “Now these young girls only see what we have,” she lamented. “They don’t see how we struggled to achieve.”

The two women agreed, though, that not all our young women are this way; many are studying, working; many are first-rate mothers and wives. Nevertheless, the idle outnumber the hard-working.

“They want everything to fall in their laps; they don’t want to work,” the forty-something woman said. “When I was growing up, my whole family pushed me. One of my sisters was told, you’d better get yourself to school or else! Today, she’s a teacher.”

But how many of the “idle” young women today have parents who push them to develop their minds? Who’s teaching them about choices? Who’s influencing them? Who is there to help them weed out the wrong messages being broadcast by our television stations? Be hot, be wild and carefree, the ads shout.

And let’s not forget those older men who prey on vulnerable girls, doling out money for sexual favours. If these older men in our society encourage this, how can we expect young minds to understand how wrong it is for them?

Young people do not suddenly become what they are. They are shaped by what parents and society teach them. Without the right guide, how can they choose a good path?

What do you think? Send your thoughts to the Chronicle or email savannahwomenscircle@gmail.com.

CRAFTY LADY.
Tracing an embroidery pattern.
Here she is again, the blue bird of happiness with some chicks. Embroider or paint them together or separately.
To make them bigger, draw them on a clean sheet of paper. If you can’t draw, ask a friend who can, or try a photocopy shop which enlarges pictures. Your drawing or photocopy would then be your original pattern.

Save this original pattern – do not draw on it when printing the pictures on to the fabric. This leaves marks on the pattern, and holes in it.

To save your original pattern, copy it by hand (or make an extra photocopy).

To copy by hand you need a soft, dark pencil and tracing paper. You can use white kite paper or greaseproof paper – not the thick, waxy paper; get the see-through, non-wax one. The thin, plain tissue paper from shoe boxes also works, but iron out the wrinkles.

Place the tracing paper flat on your pattern. Now, with your pencil, trace lightly.

Next week: learn how to print your pattern on to fabric…

EARTH WOMAN
Your beautiful mind.
For years, natural scientists in developed countries have been studying how cities with and without parks affect citizens. They discovered that beautiful landscapes have a soothing effect.

Ever since I read this some time ago, I’ve been paying attention to the positive ways beautiful spaces affect me. I’ve noticed too how, whenever I am in an ugly place, I am unsettled, irritated. Imagine then how being in a dirty environment every day can affect us.

But, do people have to exist in filth? Aren’t there ways they can clean up their corner, make it more healing? I believe there are. I believe that the very junk around us can be used to create beauty. Here are two suggestions.

Make tyre-pots. Pile discarded tyres one on top of each other, three or four tyres for each pot. Fill with earth, vegetable and fruit scraps. Plant a hibiscus, fern or periwinkle – anything that’s easy to grow. Plant a sugar-apple tree. Remember to water. Let the children get involved; they will enjoy this and learn to care for the environment.

How about that old plastic chair with three legs? Cut off the other legs; hang up the chair and fill the seat with small pots. Plant ivy; let it grow and trail gracefully.

Doing this is worth the trouble. Nature refreshes you. When your mind is relaxed, you view life from a different angle; you meet challenges, see solutions where, before, you thought there was none.
Next week: more ideas on using trash to create beauty.

HOW TO…
…Be a role model.
Perhaps you already are one and, thanks to your help, a youngster is on his or her way to facing life with a healthy dose of confidence. But, just in case you’ve never seen yourself as a role model and would like to be one, here are a few ideas I’ve picked up from various mentors.

Listen without interrupting. Sometimes, your young friend simply wants to let off steam. Don’t interrupt with lectures; don’t preach. Listen without formulating in your mind what you’re going to say next.

Give your unbiased opinion. When your young friend is done talking, ask if he or she would like to hear your thoughts. Try to be unbiased. If the problem is about a parent and you want your friend to understand the parent’s point of view, here’s what you do. First, let your young friend know you’re on his or her side without bad-mouthing the parent. After your friend has calmed down, gently speak about the pressures the parent might be facing.

Discuss solutions. Share your ideas then ask your young friend what he or she thinks. You’d be surprised by how your suggestions are greeted with an open mind.
(Continued next week…)

BEAUTIFUL YOU…INSIDE & OUT
Confidence.
Confidence is not easy to define, yet it is the trait that makes a woman shine. And don’t believe for one minute that good looks can give a woman complete self-assurance.

Let me tell you about a woman (from another country). I’ll call her Barbie. She is stunning, with a caring personality. One year, Barbie entered an international beauty pageant. The entire world voted that she would win. But, as she later said on the radio, her lack of confidence made her flop in the final interview.

If someone so beautiful can lack confidence, what about the not-so-gorgeous gals like my friend, Mrs. M.? She is small-built and keeps her hair short; she has a semi-round belly and thin lips. Yet she draws people like magnet pulls steel. “I don’t know what it is about Mrs. M.,” the young security-guard of our then work-place once said to me. “She is not a beauty, yet she has a certain way about her,” he beamed as he watched her chatting in the parking lot.

Another woman I know exudes a more quiet confidence. She is trim, with a dark complexion, keeps her hair short and unprocessed; she wears simple, non-trendy dresses. Her husband, a local white, as he is described in his country, is a wealthy plantation-owner and a deacon. He adores his wife, picks her up, swings her around playfully, and brags about her work. She counsels young school-girls. Some people would say she can pass in a crowd, unnoticed.

What then is this thing called confidence, which does not come with beauty, which makes Mrs. M. sparkle, which makes the deacon’s wife shine softly?

Follow me next week to learn more…
Enjoy the rest of your week, ladies. Be good to you, take care of you.