A Girls' School in South Sudan – March 2026

Caroline Noall kindly stepped in at the last minute to speak at our March meeting as the scheduled speaker had to cancel because of ill health.

She told us about Ibba Girls' School which was opened in 2014. There had been many years of civil war in Sudan and South Sudan was granted independence in 2011. South Sudan is quite a large country – about 31 times the size of Wales. Transport is difficult because of the poor quality of roads and transport networks. Caroline informed us that she had noticed, whilst living in South Sudan for three years in the 1980s, that women and girls did most of the work and had few opportunities for education. 90% of women are illiterate and are more likely to die in childbirth than complete their education. A residential school was established to increase the possibility that girls attending the school would be able to fully concentrate on education, rather than constantly being kept at home to work and care for family members.

South Sudan has a system of nine years of primary education and four years of secondary education. After three years of primary, girls are chosen to attend Ibba School if considered suitable. The school began with one class of fourth years, and has then added a class every year until they were able to offer the complete range of primary and secondary education. They have a principle of 'the pen and the hoe', meaning that the girls learn practical skills as well as traditional academic education subjects. They are taught in English.

The school faces many challenges. Although Ibba is not in a particularly volatile area, security is an issue. A large staff is needed to teach and support the students, and classrooms and other buildings have to be built as the school develops. The school grows much of its own food, but there can be food shortages. South Sudan suffers from hyperinflation which creates financial strains. Nevertheless, every year the number of students who graduate increases. The benefit of education filters down throughout the social network, such as students learning about the importance of hygiene which is then passed down to the home situation, learning how to behave with boys to avoid pregnancy, and the practical uses of numeracy.

Caroline presented a most interesting talk which everyone enjoyed. She donated the speaker's fee to the school and they wrote a thank you letter to our WI. If anyone wishes to support the school they can make a donation on their website.

Ysgol i Ferched yn Ne Swdan -- Mawrth 2026

Bu Caroline Noall yn garedig iawn i gamu i mewn ar y funud olaf i siarad yn ein cyfarfod ym mis Mawrth gan fod yn rhaid i'r siaradwr a drefnwyd ganslo oherwydd afiechyd.

Dywedodd wrthym am Ysgol Merched Ibba a agorwyd yn 2014. Roedd blynyddoedd lawer o ryfel cartref wedi bod yn Swdan a rhoddwyd annibyniaeth i Dde Swdan yn 2011. Mae De Swdan yn wlad eithaf mawr – tua 31 gwaith maint Cymru. Mae trafnidiaeth yn anodd oherwydd ansawdd gwael ffyrdd a rhwydweithiau trafnidiaeth. Dywedodd Caroline wrthym ei bod wedi sylwi, tra'n byw yn Ne Swdan am dair blynedd yn yr 1980au, mai menywod a merched oedd yn gwneud y rhan fwyaf o'r gwaith ac nad oedd ganddynt lawer o gyfleoedd i gael addysg. Mae 90% o fenywod yn anllythrennog ac yn fwy tebygol o farw wrth roi genedigaeth na chwblhau eu haddysg. Sefydlwyd ysgol breswyl i gynyddu'r posibilrwydd y byddai merched sy'n mynychu'r ysgol yn gallu canolbwyntio'n llawn ar addysg, yn hytrach na chael eu cadw gartref yn gyson i weithio a gofalu am aelodau'r teulu.

Mae gan Dde Swdan system o naw mlynedd o addysg gynradd a phedair blynedd o addysg uwchradd. Ar ôl tair blynedd o addysg gynradd, dewisir merched i fynychu Ysgol Ibba os ystyrir eu bod yn addas. Dechreuodd yr ysgol gydag un dosbarth o bedwaredd flwyddyn, ac yna mae wedi ychwanegu dosbarth bob blwyddyn nes eu bod yn gallu cynnig yr ystod gyflawn o addysg gynradd ac uwchradd. Mae ganddyn nhw egwyddor 'y pen a'r hoe', sy'n golygu bod y merched yn dysgu sgiliau ymarferol yn ogystal â phynciau addysg academaidd traddodiadol. Fe'u haddysgir yn Saesneg.

Mae'r ysgol yn wynebu llawer o heriau. Er nad yw Ibba mewn ardal ansefydlog iawn, mae diogelwch yn broblem. Mae angen staff mawr i addysgu a chefnogi'r myfyrwyr, ac mae'n rhaid adeiladu ystafelloedd dosbarth ac adeiladau eraill wrth i'r ysgol ddatblygu. Mae'r ysgol yn tyfu llawer o'i bwyd ei hun, ond gall fod prinder bwyd. Mae De Swdan yn dioddef o orchwyddiant sy'n creu straen ariannol. Serch hynny, bob blwyddyn mae nifer y myfyrwyr sy'n graddio yn cynyddu. Mae budd addysg yn treiddio i lawr ledled y rhwydwaith cymdeithasol, fel myfyrwyr yn dysgu am bwysigrwydd hylendid sydd wedyn yn cael ei drosglwyddo i'r sefyllfa gartref, dysgu sut i ymddwyn gyda bechgyn i osgoi beichiogrwydd, a defnyddiau ymarferol rhifedd.

Cyflwynodd Caroline sgwrs ddiddorol iawn a fwynhaodd pawb. Rhoddodd ffi'r siaradwr i'r ysgol ac ysgrifennon nhw lythyr diolch i'n Sefydliad y Merched. Os oes unrhyw un eisiau cefnogi'r ysgol gallant wneud rhodd ar eu gwefan.

Charity cheque presentation - March 2026

We were delighted to present a cheque to Velindre for £750. This was the result of our fundraising efforts for 2025/26.

The charity we have chosen for 2026/27 is Parkinsons UK Cymru.

Newsletter – March 2026

March 9th meeting:

We are delighted to welcome back the accomplished singer, Christine Purkiss. Her topic this time is Gilbert and Sullivan.

There will be feedback on the questionnaire. Thank you to the 52 members who completed a one.

A good number of people have signed up for the 21st anniversary celebratory afternoon tea. It is not too late to add your name, but all payments must be paid this meeting please. The cost is £15. There will be a VEST bus to transport those who need it.

Our charity:

We will present a cheque to Emma from Velindre, for £750.

We will also vote on the selection of our new charity to support. The short list is: RNLI, Salvation Army, Parkinson’s UK Cymru, Crisis and Banardo’s.

Information

    Link to the Glamorgan Newsletters.

    MyWI site (registration and log in required)

Groups:

    Book Group: Wednesday 11th March / 11.00 am / La Cucina da Mara

    Family History: Monday 30th March / 2.00 pm / 113 Pantbach Road

    

    Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 16th March / 10.45 am

    The Ark coffee bar, Ararat / Topic: women writers

    Craft Group: Monday 16th March / 2 pm / 18 Heol Stradling

    St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 7th April  / 10 – 12

 

Following meeting:

    Next meeting: Monday 13th April in Ararat Church Hall, Whitchurch Common, 2 pm.
Speaker  :  Blaenavon Cheddar

There will also be an Easter bonnet competition, so get busy with your creativity.

 

Meeting Speakers – February 2026

Empowering Communities: enhancing 'carbon capability' for climate action.

Dr Briony Latter, from Cardiff University, and her colleague, Dr Sam Hampton, from Bath University, have been working with the WI and the National Childbirth Trust. Briony visited to present a short, ten-minute introduction to the project. They have been looking at climate change and how it effects us. Briony explained that the project has been looking at how climate change impacts on daily life; have seen that it attracts public support; are stressing that individual and societal choices are important; and raising awareness that we do have a personal capability to reduce our carbon footprint. Areas we can examine personally are the use of energy in our homes; transport, in particular avoiding flying; how we shop; citizenship and our influence on others; and food shopping, consumption and waste, such as eating meat less frequently. Briony emphasised the need for people to have conversations about climate change and what differences we can make personally. The project has discovered that conversations at the hairdressers are a good source of everyday influence.

Women of the Titanic: stewardesses, spies and suffragettes.

Michelle Michaelis gave a detailed and interesting talk on the victims and survivors of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. She also brought a fascinating array of photographs, memorabilia and newspapers all connected with the passengers and crew. The Titanic hit the iceberg at night and many passengers had already gone to bed. Some were woken by the impact but simply went back to bed, unaware of the seriousness of the event. Many passengers believed the ship to be unsinkable, and the situation did not become obviously serious for quite a long time, as the staff were reassuring people that everything was alright, and the musicians continued to play. It was also bitterly cold outside and many preferred to stay indoors where it was warm.

There were 2,224 people on board, but the lifeboats could only accommodate 1100. The crew were not well-trained in lifeboat drill, and the boats were not prepared, lacking lights, water and food. It was over an hour after the collision before the first lifeboat was launched. Some passengers were more frightened of being launched from the height of the deck into the sea than they were of remaining on the ship.

Michelle told individual stories of some of the passengers. One elderly coupled stayed in their cabin to go down with the ship, rather than being separated on the lifeboat. Families were separated because the women and children were instructed to board the lifeboats first. One actress who survived the disaster may have been a spy. Molly Brown and several other women were suffragettes. There were 23 stewardesses on board. Three refused to leave the ship, but 20 survived. Michelle gave many interesting facts and snippets of information, such as Edith Rosenbaum's musical toy pig that she played on the lifeboat to entertain the frightened children (sound available on YouTube: 'Titanic pig'.) 

Siaradwyr y cyfarfod – Chwefror 2026

Grymuso Cymunedau: gwella 'gallu carbon' ar gyfer gweithredu ar yr hinsawdd.

Mae Dr Briony Latter, o Brifysgol Caerdydd, a'i chydweithiwr, Dr Sam Hampton, o Brifysgol Caerfaddon, wedi bod yn gweithio gyda Sefydliad y Merched a'r Ymddiriedolaeth Geni Plant Genedlaethol. Ymwelodd Briony i roi cyflwyniad byr, deg munud, i'r prosiect. Maent wedi bod yn edrych ar newid hinsawdd a sut mae'n effeithio arnom ni. Esboniodd Briony fod y prosiect wedi bod yn edrych ar sut mae newid hinsawdd yn effeithio ar fywyd bob dydd; wedi gweld ei fod yn denu cefnogaeth y cyhoedd; yn pwysleisio bod dewisiadau unigol a chymdeithasol yn bwysig; ac yn codi ymwybyddiaeth bod gennym allu personol i leihau ein hôl troed carbon. Meysydd y gallwn eu harchwilio'n bersonol yw'r defnydd o ynni yn ein cartrefi; trafnidiaeth, yn enwedig osgoi hedfan; sut rydym yn siopa; dinasyddiaeth a'n dylanwad ar eraill; a siopa bwyd, defnydd a gwastraff, fel bwyta cig yn llai aml. Pwysleisiodd Briony yr angen i bobl gael sgyrsiau am newid hinsawdd a pha wahaniaethau y gallwn eu gwneud yn bersonol. Mae'r prosiect wedi darganfod bod sgyrsiau yn y siopau trin gwallt yn ffynhonnell dda o ddylanwad bob dydd.

Menywod y Titanic: stiwardesau, ysbïwyr a swffragetiaid.

Rhoddodd Michelle Michaelis sgwrs fanwl a diddorol ar ddioddefwyr a goroeswyr suddo’r Titanic ym 1912. Daeth hefyd â chasgliad hynod ddiddorol o ffotograffau, cofroddion a phapurau newydd i gyd yn gysylltiedig â’r teithwyr a’r criw. Tarodd y Titanic y mynydd iâ yn y nos ac roedd llawer o deithwyr eisoes wedi mynd i’r gwely. Deffrodd rhai gan yr effaith ond aethant yn ôl i’r gwely, heb sylweddoli difrifoldeb y digwyddiad. Credai llawer o deithwyr nad oedd modd suddo’r llong, ac ni ddaeth y sefyllfa’n amlwg o ddifrifol am amser hir gan fod y staff yn sicrhau pobl fod popeth yn iawn, a pharhaodd y cerddorion i chwarae. Roedd hi hefyd yn oer iawn y tu allan ac roedd yn well gan lawer aros dan do lle’r oedd hi’n gynnes.

Roedd 2,224 o bobl ar fwrdd y llong, ond dim ond lle i 1100 oedd yn y badau achub. Nid oedd y criw wedi'u hyfforddi'n dda mewn ymarfer badau achub, ac nid oedd y cychod wedi'u paratoi, gan fod diffyg goleuadau, dŵr a bwyd yno. Roedd dros awr ar ôl y gwrthdrawiad cyn i'r bad achub cyntaf gael ei lansio. Roedd rhai teithwyr yn fwy ofnus o gael eu lansio mewn bad achub o uchder y dec i'r môr nag yr oeddent o aros ar y llong.   

Adroddodd Michelle straeon unigol rhai o'r teithwyr. Arhosodd un cwpl oedrannus yn eu caban i fynd i lawr gyda'r llong, yn hytrach na chael eu gwahanu ar y bad achub. Gwahanwyd teuluoedd oherwydd bod y menywod a'r plant wedi cael cyfarwyddyd i fynd ar y badau achub yn gyntaf. Mae'n bosibl bod un actores a oroesodd y drychineb yn ysbïwr. Roedd Molly Brown a sawl menyw arall yn swffragetiaid. Roedd 23 o stiwardesau ar fwrdd. Gwrthododd tri adael y llong, ond goroesodd 20. Rhoddodd Michelle lawer o ffeithiau diddorol a darnau bach o wybodaeth, fel mochyn tegan cerddorol Edith Rosenbaum a chwaraeodd ar y bad achub i ddifyrru'r plant ofnus (ar gael ar YouTube: 'Titanic pig'.) 

Newsletter – February 2026

 January 12th meeting:

We have two speakers at the January meeting. First is a short talk by Dr Briony Latter of Bath University about Climate Change and Social Transformation. This will be followed by our main speaker, Michelle Michaelis, who will be talking about Spies. Suffragettes and Stewardesses.

Also at this meeting will be voting on the National WI Resolutions for this year (see at end of this post). Committee members will introduce each resolution, and voting taken by then members a show of hands. Please note that a) only members can vote, and b) you can only vote once.

Our charity:

We were due to present a cheque to Emma from Velindre, but unforeseen circumstances have postponed this until our next meeting on March 9th.

We will also vote on our new charity next meeting. The short list is: RNLI, Salvation Army, Parkinson’s UK Cymru, Crisis and Banardo’s.

Many thanks to all members for your contributions to our charity fundraising. 

Information

    Link to the Glamorgan Newsletters.

    MyWI site (registration and log in required)

Groups:

    Book Group: Wednesday 11th February / 11.00 am / La Cucina da Mara

    Family History: Monday 23rd February / 2.00 pm / 113 Pantbach Road

    

    Poetry and Prose Group: Monday 23rd February / 10.45 am

    The Ark coffee bar, Ararat / Topic: love

    Craft Group: Monday 16th February / 2 pm / 18 Heol Stradling

    St Mary's Gardens: Tuesday 3rd March  / 10 – 12

 

Following meeting:

    Next meeting: Monday 9th March in Ararat Church Hall, Whitchurch Common, 2 pm.
Speaker singer : Christine Purkiss – Gilbert and Sullivan 

WI Resolutions 2026

1. Accessible public toilet facilities to promote dignity, health, and social inclusion.

This resolution is a call for accessible, clean, free public toilets which are fundamental to inclusion and wellbeing, especially for women, older people, disabled individuals, parents and carers. It invites WI branches to take meaningful action—through advocacy, partnership, and community engagement—to support local authorities and civil society in reversing the closure trend and ensuring dignity for all.

2. Action on women’s homelessness.

The NFWI echoes the calls of homelessness charities and urges all levels of government to take action to reduce women’s homelessness, reduce the number of women at risk of homelessness, and improve the quality of temporary accommodation. We call on WI members to support homelessness organisations in their communities and campaign to ensure that all women have a place they can safely call home.

3. Every child needs a friend.

We call on all WI members, the care system, and government to raise awareness of the independent visitor system for children in care in order to increase the number of volunteer Independent Visitors and the children in the care system who are befriended by them. We want every child in care to be offered the opportunity to have an adult figure in their life who chooses to spend a few hours a month with them.

4. Nearer to Nature.

There is a growing body of evidence that getting closer to nature is of great benefit to physical and mental health as well as to the environment. This is called ‘green health’. We call on WI members to work locally to improve access to local green spaces and support others to access it too. We call on health promotion services to increase public awareness of the use and benefits of ‘green health’, and health and care commissioners to support ‘green social prescribing’ in every GP practice.

5. Love Your Vulva.

Self-checking is your best defence against vulval cancer. Self-checking your vulva is important in ensuring the earlier detection of vulval cancer and to enhance survival chances. We call upon WI members to work together to raise awareness of the importance of self-checking and seeking medical advice as early as possible, to help highlight this rare cancer to GPs to promote prompt referrals to medical specialists when needed.