DEAR FRIENDS,
I’d like to tell you about a woman I admire.  Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820.  She grew up in England, wealthy, in a whirl of parties, concerts, travels.  She was attractive, bright and had many admirers.   Her mother wanted her to marry well, to be a society girl.  But she dreamt of being more.

When extreme poverty stalked England in the hungry Forties, Florence realised she wanted to do nursing.  Her family, horrified, forbade her.  Hospitals were places of squalor.  The patients, from slums, smuggled in alcohol and fought.  New patients used the soiled sheets of other patients.  The nurses, women from poor backgrounds, slept with the male patients.

Florence wanted to change all this.  At home, by candle light, she secretly read hospital reports and the Blue Books about public health.  Finally, she left home to  do work-study at the Kaiserwerth Institute.  Later, at another Institution, she made many positive changes.
In 1854, England and France declared war against Russia in the Crimea.  An Irish reporter told horror stories of the English camps, of diseases, shortages, wounded soldiers lying in filth, surgeons operating without lamps.

Florence arrived there with forty nurses.  The doctors resented and ignored this society girl.  Army officials did not co-operate either; to them, the soldiers were the scum of the earth.  Finally, there was a massive flood of sickness.  1000 soldiers shared a few wooden tubs for toilets which orderlies did not empty regularly.  Diarrhoea, dysentery, fever and lice ruled.  The hospital administration collapsed.

Florence took charge.  She used personal and other funds, and important contacts in England, to obtain equipment and food; to clean the hospital.  She campaigned for wounded soldiers to be paid.  She herself took care of the sickest men, walking the wards at night, sharing words of comfort.  The soldiers adored her; doctors depended on her.

After the war, back in England, Florence fought to bring about changes in army life, for soldiers to be treated better.  Devoted friends helped her.  She established schools for nurses, encouraging women of good character to register.  She set up administrative and training systems which hospitals in other countries began to use.
Today, Florence shines as a woman of courage and dignity.  She teaches lessons in perseverance, in setting high standards.  She has taught me that, instead of wringing my hands helplessly, I can seek solutions within myself.
Share your thoughts.  Write to the Chronicle or email savannahwomenscircle@gmail.com.

Savannah
CRAFTY LADY.
Message in a (plastic) bottle.
Send messages of peace, love; send get-well wishes, invitations, thank you notes that family and friends can keep forever.

You need: bright cardboard, glue, a craft paintbrush, pictures of flowers and leaves; a small plastic soft-drink bottle with cover.

Peel off the label, wash the bottle and dry.  Using your paintbrush, coat the inside of the bottle with glue.  Push pictures, one at a time, into the bottle.   Coat the pictures with glue.  Leave the bottle opened to let glue dry.

Cut the cardboard as wide as you wish…but it must be the same height as the bottle – from bottom to top.  Write your message on the cardboard.

When the glue is dry, roll the cardboard with the words on the outside.  Place the message in the bottle and replace the cover.  The message can be taken out, read and stored in the bottle.

EARTH WOMAN.
The plastic in the sea (cont’d).
Seeking solutions.
The oil spill in America has put other ocean problems on hold, it seems.  But when / if the spill is cleared up, millions of tonnes of plastic will still be there, choking the ocean.
Thousands of sea creatures mistake plastic for food, and end up dead on beaches.  Plastic ropes strangle sea animals.  And when plastic breaks down in the sun, it releases chemicals that harm the sea creatures.  Scientists are studying how this affects us when we eat those animals.  Can it cause illnesses like cancer?  Plastic also sinks to the ocean floor, killing organisms there – researchers have discovered thousands of tonnes of it on the North Sea bed.
Around the world, concerned citizens are seeking solutions.
Early in the 1990’s, the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh, India, decided to ban plastic bags.  Now, every May 1, the citizens celebrate “Plastic Ban Day”.
Last year, in Bundanoon, Australia, merchants volunteered to ban plastic water bottles.  Recently, residents in Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.A., voted to do the same.
In South Australia, shops cannot give customers plastic bags.  They must supply paper or cornstarch bags.  Retailers are fined if they breach this ban.
In South Africa, manufacturers must make plastic bags stronger and more expensive to stop people from dumping them.  Since then, the use of plastic bags has been reduced by 90 percent.
In Ireland, there is a tax on plastic bags.  And around the world, supermarkets charge extra for them.  Naturally, the use of plastic bags has dropped – people prefer to take their own shopping bags rather than pay extra for plastic bags.
In developed countries, a trend is beginning – environment-friendly materials are slowly replacing Styrofoam boxes and cups, plastic spoons, knives, forks and drinking straws.  Takeaway containers and utensils are being made with cornstarch and corn syrup, sugar cane and potato.  They are strong, can handle heat, and they break down within 30 to 90 days without releasing poisonous chemicals.
Obviously, this is not enough.  Every citizen worldwide must play a part.
Next week:  what can Guyanese do?

HOW TO…
…Market your skills.
Would you like to try something different to market your skills or product?
Do you teach yoga?  Do you play a musical instrument and wish to be hired to perform for special occasions?  Do you sew bridal outfits?   Would you like to be a part-time baby-sitter?

Get together with friends who want to sell their skills – hold your own market.  Choose a day – it can be the last Sunday of every month.  Find a clean, quiet place – the shady yard of a friend’s home.  Display your wares on mats and tables.  Forbid microphones – most shoppers find loud music annoying.

To advertise your Sunday market, you and your friends can invite a long list of special people.

Think of interesting ways to give small gifts to buyers.  If you make clay pots, give away little clay gifts with your name and telephone number on them.  If you teach yoga, hold a free yoga class and discussion; give business cards to potential students.

BEAUTIFUL YOU…INSIDE & OUT.
Things that make you look not so beautiful.
If you could see yourself through the eyes of others, what would you see?  Here are some tips you might want to consider.

Chew with your mouth closed – no-one wants to see that mashed food.

Do not take out your bad mood on co-workers.  It is not their fault you are having an awful day, and it sure makes you look ugly in their eyes.

Do not chew pencils and pens – that spit is truly disgusting.

Cover your mouth when you cough.  If you cough on someone in public, they hate you for life.  It is unhygienic, it spreads germs.  Besides, it makes you look as though you were dragged up.

Do not blow your nose in public.  Honestly, if you have a cold, stay at home.  No-one wants to listen
to your phlegm.

Do not go out with oily hair.  You might feel clean but that oily hair makes you look as if you need a bath.  If you use oil as a hair conditioner, shampoo it out before you leave home.

Enjoy the rest of your week, ladies.  Be good to yourselves, take care of you.