Women’s group is celebrating its first decade

The North Eastern Dordogne Women’s Association (Nedwa) was created in September 2009 and continues to be an active and dynamic association.

It has about 85 members of all ages, both working and retired, from seven countries – France, Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, the US and Canada.

It was created by Frances Beasley, who had belonged to a women’s group in Germany and brought the idea with her when she moved to Dordogne.

She has returned to Germany but the association continues to thrive.

President Annita Wright has been a member from the start and said: “The main reason people join and enjoy Nedwa is because it gives a chance to meet other people and it is friendly and supportive. We will always help out a member who is going through bad times. It is also a place to share inform-ation and have a good chat.”

The association started as a women’s group because the model Ms Beasley followed was the same and it had worked well.

Ms Wright said: “They found no reason to change and partners were invited to join in several of their events.

“We have monthly coffee mornings, with lunches every two months and, in the summer, an afternoon tea, which partners can come to.

“There are different regular activities you can join, such as a book club, family history group, and sewing and craft circle.

“We organise visits to local sites and this year have been to a cake factory and a wool factory. There are about four events a year, including the Christmas dinner, which we subsidise so everyone can come. We realise that with Brexit and poor exchange rates, many people are less well off than they were.

“We have also joined the British Community Committee of France, which lets us know about any local Brexit information meetings we can pass on to members.”

The association’s motto is “Women making a difference” and one of the things they do is support a different charity each year. That has included Cancer Support France, the Twilight Retirement Dogs Home and France Alzheimer, when money raised went to translating leaflets into English for the Dordogne area. They are now on offer throughout France.

“We have members with partners who have Alzheimer’s and we make sure they get visits to support them.

“This year our charity is Népal, Enfance et Lumière (see here ), which was nominated by a French member who does a lot of work with the charity and who will be showing us a film of her experiences in Nepal. In September we have a walk to raise money for the charity.”

The association was set up to cover north east Dordogne but anyone who can travel to events and activities is welcome. Membership costs €15 a year See nedwa.wordpress.com website.