Rural women in southeast Saskatchewan have always placed a high value on living and working in this province, and many found that message reinforced at the Rural Women's Conference held on Friday in Weyburn.

The day-long conference was organized by the Southeast Rural Resource Program, South Central Health District, Sask. Ag and Food and the Weyburn Country Women's Club, and was attended by about 120 women at Grace United Church.

The overall theme was, "If It's Going To Be, It's Up To Me." The speakers touched on a variety of topics, such as women being entrepreneurs, or finding emotional strength for their families.

The keynote speaker was Monica Coneys of Gravelbourg; originally from South Africa, she told about how she took over an old theatre and turned it into a complex for a number of business ventures, including a restaurant, a gallery, teen dances, a clown and party company, and a theatre on the weekends.

Other speakers included Connie Regier of Weyburn, Charlotte McCall of Regina and Linda Wegner, formerly of Stoughton and now of Saskatoon.

Participants at the conference were upbeat about the presentations they saw, and about the overall message presented to them.

"It's really uplifting. It's something rural women need; some of the presentations were about your emotional well-being, and making us feel good about living in rural Saskatchewan, which has been tough in the last few years," said Sharon Leguee.

The topics aimed at developing entrepreneurship amongst women were good, she added, as the speakers talked about opportunities available in many communities that people may not be aware of.

"This last speaker (Monica Coneys) has helped to motivate people to work together. It's been a really great day," said Leguee.

Ingri Roman agreed the conference was a positive experience, and could relate to Coneys coming here from a different country.

"She was able to speak the truth to all of us, and say it in a nice way. Every speaker had their own theme, but they all explained Saskatchewan is not a bad place to live. I myself am from a different country, and I have come to love the place and the people here," said Roman, who emigrated to Canada from Chile.

Wendy Dammann enjoyed Coneys' talk, and also Weyburn writer and poet Connie Regier, and agreed that it was good to promote country life in Saskatchewan as a positive thing.

"I'm sure we all know that already, but it's nice to have that reinforced. Everyone will feel a lot better about living here," she said.

Another participant, Lydia Monastersky, also found the conference was a positive experience.

"I liked the whole program. It's all new to me, this was the first time I attended this conference. It makes you feel good, that you should be a part of everything," she said.

The opening talk was by Shirley Kerr of the Southeast Rural Resource Program, who explained their ongoing role in helping out farm families in the southeast corner of the province.

Initially formed to assist farm families in the spring flooding of 1999, the resource program has a variety of resource people involved, including agrologists, social workers, community health workers, mental health counsellors, farmers and the clergy. Their area spans 43 Rural Municipalities and four health districts, with approximately 14,000 farm families in this area.

"The program offers counselling for seniors or families, information on issues facing farmers, and programs that families can tap into. We found some families simply don't know what services are available," said Kerr.

The services available can range from counselling to financial assistance if a family is facing an emergency in paying key bills. The program's goals have evolved in the last couple of years, to where they are participating in the task of rural revitalization and in youth development programs.

"Availability is key to the role; our staff are prepared to make visits out to the farm. We're trying to empower people and help them regain control of their lives. For some people, this may be support in making the transition off the farm, or finding off-farm work. Each family is individual in their needs," said Kerr, who is a mental health counsellor as well as program director.

This was the fourth women's conference held this year, and there are plans to hold six more family forums between now and the end of March, 2002.