Dame Raigh Roe

♥ ♥ ♥ Today's Awesome Woman of the day is Dame Raigh Roe (12 December 1922 - ) Raised in Western Australia, Roe was one of eight children whose mother had been deserted during the Depression. From her mother's courage and compassion Roe inherited her deep belief in the importance of the family and in self-reliance. Married to a farmer at 18 years of age, her neighbours invited her to join the Country Women's Association. Initially she went along for company but when she learned more about this international association of women working to improve life for their rural sisters all over the world she said: 'I was hooked'.

In 1977 Roe was elected World President of the Associated Country Women of the World, representing almost nine million women in 74 countries. Roe sees herself as an ordinary woman who set out to help people. Concerned at conditions on the local Aboriginal reserve, she encouraged the formation of Aboriginal troops of Girl Guides and Brownies, and, in 1969, started annual residential home maker schools for teenage girls and nutrition seminars for Aboriginal women. Roe is famous for her capacity for hard work, her efficiency, her toughness and her deep compassion for women everywhere.

Roe, Raigh Edith - Woman - The Australian Women's Register

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Roe, Raigh Edith - Woman - The Australian Women's Register, Australian Women's Archives Project is a biographical, bibliographical and archival database of Australian Women with links to related articles and images.