An Introduction

Women Welcome Women World Wide (5W) aims to foster international friendship by enabling women of different countries to visit one another. Members are of all backgrounds and  from many parts of the world. Any woman may become a member, regardless of nationality, religion, home circumstances, etc.

 

5W is about:
fostering international understanding by cross-cultural  friendship
gaining confidence to explore the world
offering a welcome to your own world
sharing your town with other people
extending the vision of women and their families
being part of the international community of one world.

5W was founded in 1984 by Frances Alexander in High Wycombe, UK. It was first envisaged as a European organisation and publicised by the EEC bulletin "Women of Europe". However, as friendship knows no boundaries, 5W now has members in every continent except Antarctica!

5W is an organisation with few rules - just those of general courtesy, consideration and common sense.
An essential condition of membership is to sign the promise of confidentiality on the application form.
This is to protect all members. Its infringement is an offence under UK law.

Women Welcome Women (as it was originally known) was constituted as a non-profit Trust.
On March 1,1999, the organisation became a Company Limited by Guarantee with an international Board of Directors/Trustees. The current chairwoman lives in Berlin, Germany. There are Trustees from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA. 5W continues to operate as a non-profit Trust.

5W helps women become more self-confident. After experiencing other countries and ways of life from within private  homes, members return to their own with greater understanding and a broader vision.

Members in a number of countries do not have the option to travel, but they tell us how much they value the contact of women visiting them.

"If only people would learn that experiencing a different lifestyle is interesting, enriching and mind-opening. Too many people regard different as threatening. This suspicion and mistrust causes wars. Women have a gift for making friends, and I know 5W has in its own way made the world a smaller place. It pleases me that ordinary women travel the world, discover the joy of befriending people from very different cultures, and learn about themselves at the same time in our web of international friendship." Frances Alexander, Founder

"It is the people I've met - friends now - from across the oceans, over hills, in valleys beside rivers; the conversations I've had. I've learned to listen and to understand. Frontiers, borders mean nothing when women get together. I have gained the confidence to say what I feel, without embarrassment, to stand tall." SM, England

"5W sure beats sweeping out the creepy crawlies from a back packers' hostel!" (Comment at the Independent World Traveller's Exhibition, UK)

 

Fascinating Facts...
5W has around 2500 members in over 70 countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe
The northernmost member lives within the Arctic Circle in Norway
The southernmost lives in Santa Cruz, Argentina
More than 100 languages are spoken from Arabic to Zulu

Who Could I Visit....?
...Members range in age from 16 to 80+ and come from all walks of life - housewives, students, retired, business, professional, artists, farmers, office workers, unemployed, etc, etc. They have one thing in common - a wish to befriend others from other parts of the world.

Individual Visits.....
...When you decide to travel, you write to the hostesses whose names you have selected from the membership list. We find the best friendships are made when members have taken time to correspond before travelling. We recommend that the first visit should be short, in case it is not what you expect: lifestyles can be very different from your own. The visitor should fit in with the hostess and be prepared to entertain herself during the day if her hostess is working.

The Cost...?
...There is no set subscription. The membership payment is a donation. The recommended  minimum donation (RMD) is £35 per annum. This covers the cost of providing one Membership List and three newsletters per year. There are several countries in the world where members cannot send out money. We are all enriched by their membership, which gives us the opportunity to visit them. You are asked to help generously with their membership costs. 5W is financed only by its members' donations.
No money is spent on advertising. The enthusiasm of our members is our best advertisement. 5W has been reported globally on radio, TV, in the newspapers and magazines.

What Is a Trust...?
...The women who oversee the work of 5W have formed a "Trust" - a non-profit Trust. They ensure that 5W works according to the "Deed of Trust" and are called "Trustees". They come from many countries. Their names and addresses are printed on the front page of the Membership List.
Every member is asked to sign an undertaking that she will not allow unauthorised access to her Membership List. To give names away is a civil offence in the United Kingdom; to sell them is a criminal offence.
The Board of Trustees will take appropriate legal action if there is any abuse of the Membership List.
Each member is responsible for safeguarding the good reputation of 5W, which exists to enable members to travel with confidence throughout the world.
It is appropriate that 5W should be constituted as a Trust, as every member needs to be able to trust all the others.

Interested? Get in Touch..!
...The 5W office is open from 0930 -1330, Monday to Friday, UK local time, excluding official holidays. The answering machine/fax machine is available at other times. At the moment, it is not possible to contact the office by email. Please use phone, fax or letter. You can use the  application form here on this website. Please send  with your donation to the office at the address above.

We look forward to hearing from you

Contact: Women Welcome Women World Wide
88 Easton Street, High Wycombe
Bucks, HP11 1LT, UK
Telephone Number & Fax: ++44 (0)1494 465441