In Society

With the dawn of this month there arrived from Brazil the president of the Lebanese Women's League, Mrs. Heneni Tarcha, after an absence of nine months spent among her friends of the worthy Lebanese colony, striving hard to acquaint them with the true nature of the constructive humanitarian mission for which the Lebanese Women's League struggles by means of its two great projects, the magazine 'The Woman's Voice' and the 'Kindergarten.'

At the airport to receive her was a large company of family and friends, of those who prize in the person of the beloved president her devotion and her zeal.

And The Woman's Voice extends to Mrs. Heneni Tarcha the warmest of welcomes, and congratulates the Lebanese Women's League on the return of its president to continue her struggle in the field of humanitarian service.

★ At this time every summer the Lebanese woman bestirs herself to open the scout camps on the mountain heights and hills, among the verdant pines... this to promote healthy physical education and to accustom the rising generation to the free, unfettered life, released from the bonds of the artificial civilization that life in the cities imposes.

The first of these camps was the camp of the girl guides of the Muslim Scouts; this summer their choice fell on a beautiful spot in the heights of Aynab.

The opening celebration was on July 12, under the patronage of His Excellency the Prime Minister, and was attended by a great gathering of the pick of the Lebanese, who prize in this young organization its blessed renaissance.

The celebration was opened by the commissioner of the girl guides, Miss In'am al-Saghir, who spoke of the importance of the scout movement in this age of ours, and urged those present to encourage it and spread it through the various women's circles.

Among what she said: that the scout movement has been, and still is, the best means of refining the souls of the rising generation and of disciplining their moral powers...

And speaking of next year's program she said: We seek independence from the Muslim Scouts movement, and we shall work to broaden the movement and to establish a house for the girl guides in Beirut and in other regions besides.

Then Dr. Anis Frayha came forward: he praised the book 'From Here We Begin' by Muhammad Khalid, while opposing it on two points: the first, that the home alone must be the starting point in forming good citizens; and the second, that the Lebanese woman is by no means the idle lung of which the author spoke — meaning the Arab woman.

Lastly there spoke Miss Mamdouha al-Sayyid, liaison officer at the International Relief Agency, who dwelt fondly on the gifts and bounties that nature has bestowed upon the Lebanese girl.

The celebration was interspersed with rousing anthems from the scout troop, after which donations came one upon another from the people of piety and charity, in encouragement of this blessed women's movement.

* ... And the pines of Dhour el-Choueir take comfort every summer in the activity of the members of the Young Women's Christian Association: from late June until the beginning of September a number of camps follow one another on its slopes, and the way is opened for schoolgirls and juniors, for working girls and for professional women, to take part in the camp's programs and to enjoy the open country and ordered living in the free air...

The camp's programs are interspersed with guiding lectures, exploring excursions to the neighboring villages, and entertaining gatherings, all of which carry out the mission of this humanitarian association, which continues to give the Lebanese girl, whatever her religion and her class,

what her body, her mind, and her spirit require.

The opening celebration was crowded with Lebanese delegations, of those who follow the work of the Young Women's Christian Association and prize its efforts. They were welcomed by the president of the association and supervisor of the management of the camps, Miss Edma Bayoud, who spoke of the people's esteem for these camps, shown in their eager attendance and their encouragement of them; she then introduced the speaker of the celebration, Mr. Michel Toma, director of the Bureau of Tourism and Summering, whose address made the finest impression. The company then withdrew to take the refreshments, which were served by a bouquet of charming young girls, members of the association.

The Zahrat al-Ihsan Institute

The Zahrat al-Ihsan school remains in the forefront of the educational institutes that have cultivated, and still cultivate, so many of the girls of today and the mothers of tomorrow... Two years ago it added to its curriculum a branch for cutting and dressmaking, entrusted to the nun Sister Costine al-Dabbah, who studied this vital subject technically in Paris and who watches over it and over its progress; she still teaches it in our flourishing national institute, and has thereby rendered our girls a service of which they stand in urgent need. The diploma examination in the art of cutting was held last month under the supervision of a committee of gracious ladies presided over by Mrs. Linda Sursock, with as members the wife of the Iraqi Minister Plenipotentiary in Lebanon, the wife of Mr. Fouad Saadeh, Consul of Chile in Lebanon, the wife of Mr. Farid Medawar, the wife of Dr. Marini, and the dressmaker Miss Elaine Badran. Success in winning the diploma in the art of cutting and dressmaking fell to the Misses Yvonne Maamari, Rose Armieh, Renée Maamari, Angèle Bassil, Samira Riachi, and Anita Zakhm. To the Zahrat al-Ihsan Institute go the kindest esteem and good wishes, and to the winning young ladies the most generous congratulations on this success, in a field in which they stand in the greatest need of succeeding.

★ Mrs. Hélène Mokarzel has left the Gold Coast with her children Sami, Ghazi, and Kabir, to join the circle of her worthy family in Kfarshima and to rest awhile in the countryside of the mother homeland, Lebanon. Mrs. Mokarzel is a prominent member of the Lebanese Women's Union in Kumasi, and the wife of the treasurer of the Lebanese Club there, Mr. George Mokarzel. A hearty welcome, then, to the honored guests.