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, 1 March 2012

1st Briefing

Hello and welcome to our blog!
This is our first post, to tell you about the amazing time we had at the first GOLD 2012 Briefing!
I think its safe to say we were all nervous at our first time meeting each other since we had been announced as a group, and so it was with both excitement and trepidation that Laura and I entered the hall at Linnet Clough Scout Campsite. There was much happiness when we met up with everyone; Nikki, Heather, Hannah and Zoe.We had just been on a mammoth journey from Scotland, so we by rights should have been tired, but the adrenaline kept us going and we had a great night meeting the team, and getting to see all the other teams too. (Probably the highlight was winning Articulate!) We certainly were out like lights when it came time for bed, however. 
After a night's sleep and with most of the team feeling refreshed, we began the business of the day - from talks on GOLD to what we can expect in Guyana, to deciding kit... It was certainly a busy day but a most enjoyable one. Lots of exciting decisions were made, and lots of food for thought too. There was a definite requirement for to do lists, and hopefully some of the things on mine are being ticked off as we speak :) The evening came around with it's 'red, blue and white PE kit' theme, which made for a confusing change of clothes, but we all entered the hall with excitement (and remembering INTOPS, worry!) to a night of Olympics themed entertainment! There was some very impressive costumes from the leaders (especially Nikki's, see the picture!) and we even managed to scrape a gold medal in the last 'game' of the evening, catapulting us from last to 4th place (although I still maintain my dive deserved some sort of medal...). 
Sunday came all too quickly, and once we had concluded our final group time, and had lunch, all that remained was to tidy, clean and pack. Then it was a reminder to share the GOLD love, goodbye, and time to journey back to bonny but far away Scotland for Laura and I, and to the South for the other team members. Only 2 months till the next one!
More news soon
lots of GOLD love
Jess x
P.S. I have had 'Get loose, get funky...' in my head since the weekend...!
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