GOLD Guyana 2012

Hello and welcome to our blog! We are a group of 6 Girlguiding UK members aged between 19 and 27, who have been selected to take part in a GOLD project this summer.
GOLD stands for Guiding Overseas Linked with Development, a project run by Girlguiding UK which gives young women aged between 18 and 30 the chance to assist in community action projects in other countries. As well as making a positive impact on the community, we also hope to grow the Guiding Association in the country so that they can participate more fully in WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts). There are 8 projects this year, including our destination Guyana.
We're all very excited for our GOLD journey to begin, and we hope you enjoy reading about how we are preparing and what we are doing when we get there!

Thursday 10 May 2012

Heather holds out in the hope of hot weather and other alliterative stories!

Hello everyone!
We have all been extra busy since 2nd briefing, from fundraising to booking flights (BIG smiley face!!) and sadly revision too... However Heather has been up to some EGGstra special things so read on to find out more! :)



The GOLDen Easter Egg Hunt
Always prepared!
   On Wednesday 5th April, the day the hosepipe ban was implemented, I was all set to go with my eggsciting GOLDen Easter Egg Hunt. After a lot of preparation: applying for council permissions; designing posters and advertising; making certificates, stickers, bookmarks and puzzles for the kids to take away; and cutting out, laminating, stringing up, and hiding almost 1000 paper eggs in St. Neots Riverside Park, I was well-organised and super ready for anything…. Except the weather!
   It was fine at 10am when I spent two hours in the park with my Mum getting set up (and hiding the eggs!) but as the start time approached, so did the clouds and by 1 o’clock I was huddled under a tree (my gazebo poles were faulty and didn’t fit together – Grrr Argos!) hoping that either: a) British children would prove to be as stalwart as ever and turn up anyway dressed in their wellies and waterproofs; or b) that nobody would show up so I could just go home and get warm and dry!
Prize winning egg hunters!
   In the end I had 10 brave children (and their poor soggy parents) traipsing around the park in the rain and then lo and behold, 20 minutes into the event, the sun appeared in all it’s blazing glory and it was like a different day. Now don’t get me wrong, I was pleased to see - and feel - the sun, but I was fairly miffed that it hadn’t come out half an hour before to encourage the earlier park full of children to participate!
   So, not the huge fundraiser I had hoped for, but I actually had a lot of fun in the rain and the kids that took part really enjoyed themselves. Not so sure about all the parents though! :)


The May Fayre Deluge
Guiders showing off their
circus skills!
   Now I was lucky enough to visit Canada in 2011 and my friend (whom, incidentally, I met through Guiding 10 years before) took me on a wonderful day trip top Niagara Falls. They have a great attraction there where you can walk through tunnels in the rock face behind the falls and see, hear and feel the roar and power of the water. Now it just so happens that I visited in February at a time when the falls were mostly frozen and the tunnels ended in icicles rather than gushing water. However, following the recent Bank Holiday I don’t feel I’ve missed out at all because right here in my own home town, at our village May Day fete I feel I got to enjoy(?!) a similar experience whilst sitting under my gazebo trying to sell craft and run a teddy tombola!
    Once again, the day started off bright and I was thrilled to see the sun when I opened my curtains in the morning. I got ready and went to set up my stall in plenty of time. By 10 am – 2 hours before the fete was due to start – the Heavens opened! I was so glad to have the gazebo; last year I was just sat at my table open to the elements (which thankfully were kind to me on that occasion!)
Robyn and Judy (a fellow guider)
at the stall!
     I have to say, unlike my Easter venture, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who turned out despite the bad weather to enjoy the day’s festivities. It became so soggy that even the maypole dancers had to relocate onto the church driveway as the green was just too boggy underfoot!
    However, it’s not about the surroundings, but the company you keep and thanks to my niece, Robyn, and my fellow Guiders and local Trefoil Guild (who had the stalls either side of mine) I had a very enjoyable – if somewhat chilly – May Day, and raised nearly £60 for my GOLD funds. 



 
Well done Heather!  On behalf the team good luck to Zoe, who will be shortly taking part in a swimathon!
Not long now till 3rd briefing...
GOLD love
Jess xxx

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