Brushing up on Guyana.... two months to go!!

Hello everyone!

With just under 2 months to go till we will be heading out to Guyana on our project, we thought it was about time we brushed up on our Guyana knowledge, and we thought you might to know a little bit about what we've learned!

A map of Guyana

Guyana is in South America and is bordered by Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela as well as the Atlantic Ocean. The country covers an area of over 82,000 miles, 90% of which is covered by the Amazon Rainforest. Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America, This is because, up until 1966, Guyana was a British colony. However, the Guyanese also use a type of slang language known as Guyanese Creole. The Guyanese culture has taken its influence from Europe, particularly Britain, and also West Africa, South Asia and especially the Caribbean. The Carribbean influence is reflected in the laid back approach and the cuisine, rice and beans and fried chicken being paticular favourites! The climate in Guyana is tropical, hot and humid, being placed so close to the equator, with at least one rain shower per day - perfect for cooling off!!
The Guyanse Girl Guides Association (GGGA) was formed in 1922, when the country was still a British colony, and the association has grown and develped since then, becoming full members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1975. The GGGA is a also member of the Carribbean Link, a link created between Carribean countries to support each others Assocations and provide a framework for resources and programmes. There are approximately 1100 members of GGGA who meet in schools and churches but often don't have a set meeting time or length! The association is divided into different sections just like in the UK;

• Brownies aged 7-11
• Guides aged 11-15
• Rangers aged 15+
• Young Leaders aged 18+ who are training to be full leaders
• Leaders

Thanks to Hannah for researching this blog post - you can tell she's a geographer!

Guyana Flag

Hope you enjoyed reading about Guyana, and as you can imagine we're all very excited for our project there to begin. Flights are booked, badges ordered and third briefing approaching fast so it's all getting very real and exciting!
Love,
The Guyana GOLD Team 2012 xxx
P.S. If anyone would like a badge and/or a copy of the badge resource please email us!