January 2013 Volume No: 614

TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE CHILDREN’S LIVES

EVERYTrefoil News MOTHER’S January 2013 LIFE AND HEALTH IS PRECIOU Page 1 S Trefoil News January 2013 Issue No: 614

Published by: Irish , Trefoil House, 27 Pembroke Park, 4. Printed by: Richardson and Watts, 36 Thornville Park, , Dublin 5.

The Editorial Team of Trefoil News reserves the right to edit material submitted. Publications Officer: Katherine Ryan. Contact : [email protected] Message from the Chief Commissioner Page 1 Message from the International Commissioner Page 2 World Thinking Day Page 3 World Thinking Day Fund Pages 4-7 Thinking Day Ceremony Pages 8–10 Noticeboard Page 11 NPT Update, Dates for your Diary Page 12 A.T.O.C. & Finance News Page 13 Who’s Who in IGG Page 14 Stitch’s Diary Page 15 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (E.D.I.) Pages 16-17 Includes the Human Library activity from CAMP 101 Programme Review Update Page 18 Charity Collaborations — Simon Community Page 19 Out and About Pages 20-21 Ladybirds Pages 22-25 Includes some great World Thinking Day themed activities focussed on MDG’s 4 and 5, some internationally themed fun to help your Ladybirds gain their International badge and think about their sister Guides around the world. Pages 26-29 Includes a lot of useful information to help Leaders with the World Thinking Day theme, with some great activities themed around mothers and health. Guides Pages 30-33 Includes a World Thinking Day history story, some crafts and a special focus on the Chocolate Badge for this month. There is also some very important updates in relation to the Gold Awards and the Gold Award Booklets. Senior Branch Pages 34-35 Includes some information and ideas to help you research MDG’s 4 and 5 and some fun activities from the “Whisper to a Shout” Stop the Violence campaign. International Pages 36-44 Includes Travellers Tales, a look-back at international tent at CAMP 101, spotlight on , Information on the four World Centres and how to become a friend, the launch of IGG’s service project to Sangam, postbox penpals and an opportunity to take part in a great joint WAGGGS & Greenpeace competition. Message from the Chief Commissioner

Hi everyone and happy New Year to you all,

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the start of another new year. Our international camp, CAMP 101 was 6 months ago. That was a great opportunity for us to share Guiding experiences with many of you from around the world. If you’re a non-IGG member reading this and you were at CAMP 101, thank you for sharing with us and I hope you enjoyed it.

This year’s World Thinking Day theme chosen by WAGGGS is based on Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 – Girls worldwide say “together we can save children’s lives” and “every mother’s life and health is precious”. WAGGGS has chosen a country to focus on in each region and in the Europe Region, is the focus country this year. Our GAT resource produced last year has lots of information and activities related to these and all the other MDGs. Please remember to use it and this edition of Trefoil News for your World Thinking Day activities and weekly programmes, so that the girls can earn the GAT badge and in the process gain an awareness of the issues affecting girls and young women around the world.

In Ireland, we’re lucky that infant mortality rates have decreased and maternal health has improved in the last number of decades. There is still room for improvement but we also have the ability in this country to provide expertise and training help to other countries. As members of WAGGGS we can also contribute via the World Thinking Day Fund to help develop Guiding in countries less well off than ourselves, thereby helping girls to help themselves. World Thinking Day provides a great opportunity for us to join together as Districts, Areas or Regions to hold World Thinking Day ceremonies. These give many of the girls the first taste of Guiding life outside of their units.

Don’t forget to complete your Unit Census Forms this month and get them to your District Commissioner in plenty of time. There is a change of format this year in the forms you got, and this should make it easier for all concerned. Please check the details carefully on the Unit profile form and amend them if necessary.

Well done to those of you who got a place at Branch Day which takes place on 9th February. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

As we start the new year, let’s all make an effort to continue to grow our wonderful organisation. If you have time, please look again at our Strategic Plan and see where your Unit plans for the year fit into this. It’d be great if you would feed back to [email protected] to let us know how what you do helps us fulfil our Strategic Plan.

Yours in Guiding, Emer

Contact: Emer O’Sullivan, Chief Commissioner, c/o I.G.G.,27 Pembroke Park, Dublin 4 Email: [email protected]

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 3 Message from the International Commissioner

Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2013 International edition of Trefoil News.

I was delighted to meet many of you at CAMP 101 in July 2012. What a wonderful International Camp it was, where we had the opportunity to meet inspiring members from Ireland and abroad. It was a week that will be remembered for many years to come.

This year World Thinking Day focuses on the 4th and 5th Millennium Development Goals “Reduce child mortality and Improve maternal health” The World Thinking Day website has lots of interesting activities for you to try out with your Unit - do try them and award the girls with the World Thinking Day Badge (available from the IGG Distribution Centre.)

As the economic downturn affects us more and more, it is difficult to ask our members for donations – but our Thinking Day contributions are so beneficial to our fellow members living in difficult situations, so please explain to the girls where the money goes and what it is used for and I am sure we can match the donation of 2012. Each World Thinking Day some countries are chosen as focus countries, and we are delighted that this year the is one of the Focus countries.

Again this year some of our members have had the experience of visiting World Centres or attending camps abroad or visiting interesting places with Jeka. Not as many travelled in 2012 which was expected as so many of you attended CAMP 101.Many thanks to all the Leaders who have given so much of their personal time to take members to CAMP 101 or abroad.

Don’t forget to start planning for the future International opportunities – camps, visits to World Centres, set the seed now and encourage your girls to start a saving scheme. Please don’t hesitate to contact the International Committee for any support or advice, we would be delighted to help.

2013 will see the Timpeall an Domhain competition being held, with the final in Co. Galway. Do consider taking part as it leads to lots of creativity and fun. It encourages the Guides to do research, be creative and act out their production while learning at the same time. I look forward to meeting the regional finalists in April 2013.

I take this opportunity to thank my fellow members on the International Committee and our International Secretary, Jemma Lee for their continued commitment to the International aspect of Guiding.

Have a great Guiding year and a wonderful World Thinking Day.

Yours in Guiding,

Page 4 Trefoil News January 2013 WORLD THINKING DAY

Every year on 22 February Girl Guides and Girl Scouts globally celebrate World Thinking Day. Together Girl Guides and Girl scouts give thanks and show appreciation for the international friendship they find in our movement and raise money to help grow and share the movement with more girls and young women around the world.

Thinking Day started in 1926, the date February 22nd was selected because it is the mutual birthday of Robert Baden Powell the founder of the Boy movement and his wife Olave, who served as the World Chief Guide.

This day each year gives us the opportunity to celebrate that we are one in ten million members of the biggest global family and to think of those less fortunate.

HOW TO CELEBRATE WORLD THINKING DAY....

Celebrate World Thinking Day by taking part in a World Thinking Day ceremony and collecting for the World Thinking Day fund (explained on page 4.) Each year World Thinking Day has a theme. Since 2009 World Thinking Day has been themed on MDG, offering girls and young women the opportunity to join together to take action on issues affecting our world. The theme for 2013 is MDGs 4 and 5 “together we can save children’s lives” and “every mothers life and health is precious.”

As World Thinking Day 2013 focuses on the theme of Maternal Health and Child Mortality it is important to know some of the facts

Did you know? • 6.9 million children under the age of five died in 2011. • More than half of these early child deaths are due to conditions that could be prevented or treated with access to simple, affordable interventions. • Leading causes of death in under-five children are pneumonia, preterm birth complications, diarrhoea, birth asphyxia and malaria. About one third of all child deaths are linked to malnutrition. • Children in sub-Saharan Africa are about 16.5 times more likely to die before the age of five than children in developed regions. • Every year nearly 40% of all those under-five child deaths are among newborn infants, babies in their first 28 days of life or the neonatal period. • In developing countries nearly half of all mothers and newborns do not receive skilled care during and immediately after birth. • Up to two thirds of newborn deaths can be prevented if known, effective health measures are provided at birth and during the first week of life. • Every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. • 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. • Maternal mortality is higher in women living in rural areas and among poorer communities. • Young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women. • Skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies. • Between 1990 and 2010, maternal mortality worldwide dropped by almost 50% - a lot done but more to do.

Why not check out: WAGGGS World Thinking Day Activity Pack 2013 which is available to download at www.worldthinkingday.org/en/news/22120

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 5 At the seventh world conference in Poland in 1932 a delegate suggested that Girl Guides and Girl Scouts should give a penny for their thoughts. This was the start of the World Thinking Day Fund being established. The fund was to be used wherever the need was greatest. The sum of one penny or its World equivalent is symbolic today as member organisations are asked to Think contribute what they can to this fund. ing Day Money collected helps promote Guiding in countries less fortunate. Supporting underprivileged areas of communities, it can help with Leader Fund training, encourage International exchange and support a wide variety of programmes, e.g. some that deal with malnutrition and illiteracy.

This year WAGGGS has identified five countries in particular, one from each Guiding Region that will showcase MDGs 4 and 5. We are delighted to have been chosen as one of them. The countries are:

Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland is ranked very highly in the Human Development Index, in fact it is ranked 7th of 187. Nearly 100% of registered births are attended by skilled healthcare personnel and in the last 10 years the child death rate has halved.

Malawi Child and maternal death rates are high in Malawi: the country is part of a group of 75 countries where over 95% of all child and maternal deaths occur. A girl in Malawi has a one in 16 chance of dying from maternal causes during her lifetime. However, Malawi is on track to achieve MDG4 and making progress towards 5.

Pakistan Pakistan is making progress towards achieving MDG5, but unless it increases its efforts, it will not reach the MDG 4 targets. Like Malawi, Pakistan is part of a group of countries where over 95% of all child and maternal deaths occur. A 15year old girl in Pakistan has a 1 in 110 chance of dying from maternal causes in her lifetime.

Jordan In Jordan the child and maternal death rate has decreased in the last 10 years. In 2010, there were 22 child deaths per 1,000 live births and 63 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Two per cent of children were moderately or severely underweight.

Venezuela Venezuela’s child death rates have decreased since 1990 , but its maternal death rates have remained the same . A girl living in Venezuela has a one in 410 chance of dying from maternal causes.

Four of the five focus countries (Jordan, Malawi, Pakistan and Venezuela), will receive grants from the World Thinking Day Fund which they will put toward action projects based on MDG 4 and/or 5 in their countries.

We will not be receiving a grant. We have for a long time been one of the highest per capita contributors to the World Thinking Day fund due to our money boxes and Thinking Day ceremonies - we hope we will be able to earn as much, if not more than last year to contribute toward our fellow focus countries, so please donate if you can.

It is hoped that, by supporting these countries, WAGGGS will be able to demonstrate how Girl Guiding/Girl has a long term practical and beneficial impact on communities that people live in.

Page 6 Trefoil News January 2013 TEMPLATE Money Box

You will need: 1 piece of card (A4 size) Ruler, Pencil, Scissors Glue/Sellotape

What to do: ♦ Draw the template onto the card. Cut out. ♦ Fold the card on the broken lines. ♦ Glue the tabs on the side flaps to the inside of the front and back flaps ♦ Cut a slit in the lid for money. Glue the lid down. ♦ Decorate around the edges.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 7 SERVICE PROJECTS YOUR WORLD THINK

Page 8 Trefoil News January 2013 K ING DAY DONATIONS WILL GO TOWARDS

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 9 Thinking Day Ceremony 2013

In preparation for the ceremony:

The week before Thinking Day have each of the girls make up a card (you can make greeting cards if you wish to have a craft night or just hand out coloured card for the girls to write on) – have each of the girls write three nice things they can do for their mother, or a mother they know, on the card. They must go and do those things in the week coming up to the Thinking Day Ceremony.

On the night have something on the floor for the cards to go on/in – a large piece of coloured card (perhaps cut into the shape of a heart), a decorated box, or even a doll's crib if you wish.

To begin: All stand in horse shoe formation.

Opening: Today we gather with our 10 million sisters world wide to celebrate WAGGGS – The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts – and to take part in the Thinking Day ceremony. This year we come together to think about saving children's lives and to highlight that every mother's life and health is precious. We begin by presenting the nice things we have done for our mothers this week. If every one will bring forward their cards and put them on the heart/in the box.

Reading One:

A Mother's Worth by Anonymous

I humbly appraise my mother's worth, It began with pain to give me birth, Which triggered off a love so strong, Blossoming into a life-long bond.

When needed, she was always there, Someone I realized would always care. And the older I got the more I knew, A mother's love sincere and true.

Now as I watch my mother age in years, I'm happy to help and ease her fears. Privileged now to play my part, As she did for me from the very start

Reading Two:

Mothers: They are our teachers; our comforters; our nurses; our drivers. They fight for us; stand by us; pick us up when we fall. They feed us; clothe us; protect us and let us grow. They hold on tight when we're small and stay behind when we're bigger.

If they had to walk miles for clean water for us, they would. If they had to work three jobs to put us in school, they would. If they knew we'd be safer somewhere else, they would let us go, even if it broke their hearts. If they had to choose – they would always choose us.

Every mother is precious to her child – and every mother's life is precious to the world.

Song: I Love Mommy or the Mother Song (see Song Sheet)

Page 10 Trefoil News January 2013 Thinking Day Ceremony 2013

Reading Three:

Guide Readers (One girl for each sentence if there are enough readers): I do not have to fight in wars. I do not have to wonder where my next meal is coming from. I do not live in fear of disease.

Brownie Readers: I go to school. I have warm clothes for winter. I have friends and family who care about me.

Ladybird Readers (A different Ladybird to say the sentence each time – it can be said as many times as you wish): I am one of the lucky ones. I am one of the lucky ones. I am one of the lucky ones.

Reading Four:

Some facts about children living in developing countries (Each fact could perhaps be read by a Guide or Young Leader):

♦ There are over 300,000 child soldiers in the world – most are between 8 and 16 years old. Almost 100,000 of these soldiers are girls. ♦ In the last decade over 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict. ♦ An estimated 72 million children in the developing world are not in primary school – where they should be. ♦ Most of these children are working, often in dangerous conditions, to help buy food for their families. They cannot afford to go to school, where they would be safe. ♦ Less then 1% of the money spent world wide on military funding could put every one of these children in school. ♦ More then 46% of the world's population are now under 25. Young people are the future – we are the future. It is up to us to try and make a world where no child will be without health; education; and love. Song: Make New Friends

Reading Five: (read by a Leader)

Every year five countries are picked to be specially represented at Thinking Day ceremonies. This year the countries chosen were: Pakistan, Malawi, Jordan, Venezuela and our very own Republic of Ireland.

Things aren't easy in Ireland right now, there are a lot of things to worry about. But you, the youth of Ireland, are the hope for the future. Our new President, Michael D. Higgins, has called on all young Irish people to 'stand up and be heard'. He wants to hear what being young in Ireland is like, and what young people would do to make this country better. You all have the opportunity to make a difference, whether it is big or small, everything matters.

And speaking of making a difference in the world – the World Thinking Day Fund is collected every year and the money spent on important work around the world. All the girls have collected whatever they could spare into the money boxes they made themselves. If everyone can now bring forward their boxes and put them into the basket/on the floor.

Song: The World Song

Closing: And so this ends our Thinking Day ceremony. I hope we've all learned a little bit about the goals for Guiding this year, and will go home inspired for Girl Guiding 2013. This is year two into our next hundred years of Guiding – let's make it as great as last year! We will finish by singing On My Honour.

Song: On My Honour

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 11 SONG SHEET *If anyone is unsure of the tunes to any of these songs, they are available to listen to on YouTube.

I Love Mommy Make New Friends (Can be sung in rounds): (Sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques") I Love Mommy, I Love Mommy, Make new friends, Yes, I do, yes, I do. but keep the old, Mommies are for hugging, (Hug self) one is silver Mommies are for kissing, (Blow a kiss) and the other gold. I love you, yes I do. (point to mother)

A circle is round, OR it has no end, that's how long Mother's Day Song I want to be your friend. (Sung to the tune of "You are my sunshine") I love you mommy I have a hand, My dearest mommy and you have another, You make me happy put them together When I am sad and we have each other. I want to tell you I really love you! Make new friends When I'm with you I am so glad!

but keep the old

one is silver and the other gold. On My Honour:

Chorus: On My Honour, I will try, There’s a duty to be done, and I say aye, There’s a reason here, for a reason above, My honour is to try, and my duty is to love.

No one needs to know my name, If I’ve hurt someone, then I’m to blame. If I’ve helped someone, then I’ve helped me, I've opened up my eyes to see.

Chorus

I’ve tucked away a song or two, If you’re feeling low, there’s on for you. The World Song: If you need a friend, then I will come.

And there’s plenty more, where I come from. Our way is clear as we march on

and see our flag on high. 'Tis never furled throughout the world Chorus for hope shall never die. Come with me where the fire burns bright, We must unite for what is right, in friendship true and strong. We can even see better, by the candle light, We can find more meaning, in a campfire glow, Until the world in its rebirth Than we’ve ever found in a year or so. shall sing our song. Shall sing our song. Chorus All those who loved the true and good, whose promises were kept. We’ve a promise, to always keep, We'll sing day is done, before we sleep, With humble minds who's acts were kind whose honour never slept. We’re Girl Guides together, and when we’re gone, These were the free and we must be, We’ll still be a trying, and a singing this song.

prepared like them to live.

To give to all both great and small, Chorus all we can give. All we can give.

Page 12 Trefoil News January 2013 Notice Board

Corrections with reference to the IGG Cottages information inNotice Board October’s Trefoil News.

Campsite, The Demesne, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon is no longer available for use - Mae Callaghan's number is no longer to be used as a contact.

Mote Park, Roscommon, the booking contact has changed to Joanna Pearman, Lucan Guides with Stitch Cartrongarrow, Ardagh, Co. Longford. at the IGG Panto. Check Or you can email [email protected] out more great photos from the Panto on the Work on a website for the Mote Park inside back cover. cottage is currently underway and the site should be up and running by January — www.iggcottageroscommon.com I.G.G. International Committee Service project to Sangam. See page 43 For more details Hi Leaders, Don’t forget if you have any question big or small, please contact me. As your Support Officer, I’m here to help! Looking DON’T FORGET —TIMPEALL AN DOMHAIN 2013 forward to helping you with your questions, Jemma. Email : [email protected] The international competition for Guides will be running again this year! The International Committee is offering the chance to all Patrols around the country to learn more about countries of the world, WAGGGS, and their 10 million sisters in Guiding.

The competition is made up of two parts. The first is the Regional Round. This takes place separately in each Region and your Regional Commissioner can tell you more about it. All Regional Rounds will be completed before March 28th.

Next the winning team from the Regional Rounds will be invited to participate in the second part – the National Final. The National Final will take place in Esker Retreat Centre, Athenry, Galway from April 19th to 21st.

This year our four focus countries are: Luxembourg, Chile, Taiwan and Lebanon.

For more information, including the rules and tasks, see Nov/Dec 2012 Trefoil News

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 13 NPT UPDATE - A meeting of the National Programme and Training Committee was held at National Office held on November 17th 2012. Here are some of the decisions from that meeting.

Membership Badges 2013 Brownie Branch A new design was chosen for next year’s badges with the Units have received the questions for the Brownie Quiz, the theme “Growing in Confidence” to fit in with our Strategic winners will compete at regional and national level. The Plan. These badges will be sent out by your Regional Road Safety and Safety in the Home badge syllabi have Census administrator in the coming weeks. been updated and posted in Trefoil News and on the Website.

Guide Branch All Units have received a letter regarding the Lord and Lady BP badges and also an Out and About day which will be held in October 2013.

The Guide Branch committee has no rep for Mid-West or South East Regions and is also looking for a Treasurer and Secretary. Interested

people should contact their

Regional Commissioners.

Teambuilding Recommendations ATOC A Who’s Who of National Committees will appear in each The Safety in the Hills weekend in September was a great Trefoil News so all members can get to know who success and participants will receive a certificate for represents them at national level. attending.

Programme Review

The Task and Finish groups have started their work which The next NPT Meeting will be on 26th January will be completed by April. Members present who attended the initial weekend reported a great atmosphere with lots of 2013—if you have anything you would like to bring ideas and enthusiasm for the task ahead. to the attention of NPT, please email NPT secretary Jemma Lee on [email protected] Ladybird Branch A national event with a carnival theme will be held from April 20th-27th. They will also be holding a table quiz and colouring competition in 2013.

Dates for Your Diary

1st New Year’s Day 9th Branch Day 17th St Patrick’s Day

5th FETAC Training 10th Chinese New Year 23rd NPT Committee

March Meeting 12th Executive Committee 14th Valentine’s Day January

Meeting February 31st Easter Sunday 22nd World Thinking Day 19th FETAC Training 23rd Executive Committee 26th NPT Committee Meeting Meeting

Guiding Dates are in italics!

Page 14 Trefoil News January 2013 A.T.O.C. Important Updates to the Training Bar & Mentoring Programme as of November 2012

Participants taking part in this scheme should:

♦ Hold an IGG Leader Warrant ♦ Have experience of running a Unit ♦ Have an interest in training ♦ Have attended a variety of trainings (i.e. local, regional & national) ♦ Have experience of training at local level

Requirements for obtaining a Basic Trainer Bar:

Attend trainings covering: ♦ The role of the Trainer ♦ Training methods ♦ Facilitation Skills ♦ Airing and Sharing

Training content for trainees to include the following in Role of the Trainer:

♦ To understand Ethos of Guiding, Promise & Law, Guiding values & WAGGGS ♦ To understand the main considerations of “how adults learn”. ♦ To explore your own strengths & needs as a trainer. ♦ To encourage Leaders to be innovative in adapting and producing materials out ♦ of activities and games.

Training Methods & Facilitation and Group work to remain the same

When a participant is ready for assessment she will fill out the new Application form which will be included on back of Trainer Bar & Mentoring Programme book and be recommended by her mentor plus her Regional Commissioner or Branch Chairman. F ITEMS ARISING FROM OPEN FORUM AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2012 U I The following items were discussed by the Finance Committee. P N Participants travelling alone: It was agreed that, in future, participants will be notified in D advance that applications from people travelling alone will be reviewed on a case by case basis, A as was done at this year's conference. A

Limits on travelling expenses: A suggestion that there might be limits on the amount of N T travelling expenses was considered and it was decided that this would not be fair or feasible. C E E Trefoil News January 2013 Page 15 Each month, we will be featuring a profile of a committee so that you, the Leader will get to know who’s who on committees and maybe find a committee you may be interested in joining. It’s nice to put a face with the name and also to know who’s representing your Region on a national level.

THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Membership Committee is IGG’s newest committee. The committee was set up just under a year ago, and our aim is to build on the trend of increasing membership in IGG. Recently, IGG’s Strategic Plan outlined certain aims for the organisation - two of these areas relate directly to membership. These are Recruitment and Retention/ Progression.

As a committee, our goal is to look at expanding and diversifying the types of membership IGG has, and making sure that girls and young women from all backgrounds have the chance to develop through Guiding.

But membership is not just about getting new members in - it’s also about making sure that our current members get the most from what the organisation has to offer, and have the support and knowledge to progress and develop through all the stages of their lives.

But our membership committee needs members!!! If you think you have a talent for nurturing future Leaders, or are the kind of Unit that has a waiting list for its waiting list, then we need your expertise and skills! If you would be interested in getting involved with the committee, we would welcome you with open arms. We meet 6-7 times a year, for a 3 hour meeting to look at ways we can develop IGGs membership. Please email Aisling O’Halloran on [email protected] if you are interested in learning more.

Aisling O’Halloran Hi, my name is Aisling, I'm the Membership Committee Chairpman. I'm 26 years old, and have been in IGG since I was a Brownie. Over the years I've had a lot of international experience- I volunteered in , and worked for WAGGGS in their European Offices a few years ago. I work as a Brownie Leader with a Unit in Kilkenny, and between that and the committee I'm kept fairly busy! Outside of Guides, I'm working on my Gold Gaisce Award, and am learning to play the violin!

Betty Prenter Hi, I’m Betty Prenter. I have been involved in Guiding for about 25 years. I was Brown Owl in Belmont Brownies in Bray for about 19 years and for the last 3 years was Brown Owl in Enniskerry Brownies until Sept. 2012. I am currently Area Commissioner for Wicklow. I act as Secretary for the Membership Committee.

Anne Harding My Name is Anne Harding. I am from Bray, Co. Wicklow. I have been a Guide Leader and an Area Commissioner for Co. Wicklow in the past. At present I am a Senior Branch Leader and a District Commissioner. I did some membership presentations at the Regional Conferences last year and hopefully got the chance to meet some of you.

Fiona Cantwell Fiona Cantwell (Fizz here) I joined the committee with Aisling to get it up and running. Member of Guiding for 13 years and work at a local level as a Leader within Ladybirds, Brownies, Guides and SB, as well as at a national level. Generally can be spotted around the place with my camera.

Page 16 Trefoil News January 2013 h’s Stitch’s Diary titc S ry Dia

Hello Everyone,

This week I went on holiday to Co.Kildare, my first visit was to the Celbridge Brownies who were so enthusiastic to see me. I got to help them make a HUGE enrolment banner for the new Liffey Guides first enrolment. I was very exited to meet the new Guides later, as the Brownies had told me such nice things about them.

After Brownies I went to Liffey Guides as a special guest to their very first enrolment. The fourteen girls were very excited and made yummy cakes for their hostess badge. Their Leaders got special achievements - Margaret got her ten year service pin and Brigit got her Guide Leader pin, it was a very busy night. The next day I went to Liffey Brownies to their enrolment and saw all my excited new and old friends, they made lovely cakes and tea for after.

The weekend arrived and I was off to Edenderry with the Liffey Brownies, on their pack holiday. We all met in Beech Cottage - I was amazed at how big it was and how lovely they have made it. As the Leaders settled in, I lounged in the red chairs with the YL’s Laragh and Niamh. All the girls piled in, when every one arrived Georgina gave a quick talk about what would be happening and what to do if there was a fire. After that we all went out to play, when we came back we got into our pjs, had supper and watched Toy Story in our sleeping bags.

We all woke up at about 8 for breakfast. We had cereal and toast which was really nice. We learned about what we had to look out for to get our nature observer badge. I listened up so I could help the Brownies. We then set out on our hike to the forest with me hitching a lift in Jessica's bag with my head out so I could see everything around me. We found so many different bugs, birds, trees and flowers. When we came back I rested in the amazing red chairs and talked to the Newbridge Leaders who came to visit for the day. The girls all made buns and decorated them all princessy, the smell surrounded the whole house, it was beautiful. Outside we had a little Picnic with jellies and chocolate bars. Later we all went Arty with our Artist badge. Margaret made Spaghetti Bolognese, Yummy. That night we got all dressed up in saris even me, and had an Indian night with lots of fun. Then we where all so tired from the long day we got to watch some of Monsters Inc and had hot chocolate but then we all went to bed early.

Sunday was so sad it was our last day. We woke up and had to pack our bags, played a game and when we came in Georgina gave us our badges even one for seeing me “Stitch!”. We said our good byes as the parents came. It was a great weekend.

Over the next few days I visited Celbridge Guides at their meeting they let me sing campfire songs with them, there were so many enthusiastic girls and I was impressed that they knew all the songs and even taught me a few. I really enjoyed my time with them and was sad to go home. Hopefully I’ll see them again soon. Lots of love, Stitch XXX

If you’d like me to come and visit your Unit or go with you on your camp or holiday, please contact my Mammy Egle at 01-6683898 or email her at [email protected]

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 17 Edi — equality, diversity and inclusion

The theme of World Thinking Day this year is “Girls worldwide say …. ‘Together we can save children’s lives’ and ‘Every mother’s life and health are precious’ “ The five focus countries for this year are Ireland, Jordan, Malawi, Pakistan and Venezula. Ask your girls to do some research into each of these countries. You may be surprised to learn the mortality rates of children aged 0-5 yrs in these countries - Ireland 3.9%, Jordan 2.1%, Malawi - 9.2%, Pakistan 8.6%, Venezuela 1.8% (ref. World Bank 2010)

The girls could check out reasons for the different rates by using the following websites for research on the MDG’s.

www.unicef.org/ www.savethechildren.org/ www.who.int/ www.safemotherhood.org/ www.un.org/millenniumgoals www.wagggsworld.org/take_action

We’ve provided you with 5 sample “day in the life” accounts below to read out and discuss with your Unit. Ask the girls questions to draw them into a discussion on some of the important issues, such as hygiene, health, unplanned pregnancy, being orphaned, aids, other illnesses and child mortality.

Compare and contrast the life of Isabelle and the life of Palwasha or Mezi. Ask the girls whether these things could happen to Isabelle/them as well.

Isabelle lives in Ireland, she's 11, and her little brother is 7 but she sometimes gets bored with the games he enjoys. She loved Brownies and now the new challenge of Guides. She's finding out about World Thinking Day in Jordan, Malawi, Pakistan and Venezuela and her Patrol are going to pen pal with a Patrol in Pakistan .....

Jamila lives in Jordan, she's 8 and joined Brownies last year and has made lots of new friends. Her older brother is in Scouts and boasts about all the camping and hiking expeditions she doesn't do yet, but Jamila thinks he wasn't listening much when the Civil Defence man last week was explaining about hygiene and community sanitation projects.

Mezi lives in Malawi, she's 15 and was a Brownie and Guide until she was 12, when she had to start spending more time collecting water to farm her family's land. Her mother died when she was 13 and she's been working even harder looking after her two cute, naughty little brothers. Now her father wants her to marry a man in the neighbouring village to try to secure the family's future. She doesn't know much about the man and remembers the UNICEF lady at Guides explaining something about being careful about sexually transmitted infections and AIDS.

Palwasha lives in Pakistan, she's 7 and has just joined Junior Guides. Her little sister is 3 and is very unwell and their parents are really worried. Palwasha tries to bring home stories or arts or crafts after her Junior Guide meetings to help cheer her sister up to stay brave and get well......

Valeria lives in Venezeula, she's 17 and has been in Guías Menor (Guides) and now Guías Mayor (Rangers). She has also been dating a student from the next suburb since last year and yesterday a pregnancy test showed positive. She is shocked and knows her mother will be too. Her little sister is too young to understand, so she is going to tell her friend first at Rangers tonight.

Page 18 Trefoil News January 2013 Edi — equality, diversity and inclusion

‘Feel free to be yourself, everyone else is taken.’ Oscar Wilde HUMAN LIBRARY (aka People on Loan, Living Books)

TIME: 50 minutes to 1 hour (depends on number of books) AIM: To promote dialogue, reduce stereotypes and prejudices and encourage understanding, as well as acknowledging human rights and grounds for discrimination. LINK: To GAT Resource Pack, Dev Ed Syllabus and MDGs and Education of Girls OBJECTIVE: To help with ‘soft skills’, listening, communicating, thinking and acting. Also, part of our Mission Statement ‘… responsible citizens of the world.’

The 9 grounds for discrimination are: Age Ability Gender Sexual orientation Family status Marital status Religious belief Race/ethnicity Membership of the Travelling Community

WHAT TO DO: Try to have at least 4 books and if possible 6 and you could ask people in the community or within your own Area/ District to act as human books. Otherwise you could ask somebody to role play. Maybe Parents could assist in Sample being books, the Trefoil Guild are very willing helpers. Allow at least 10 minutes at each book with the attached Library Library Card. Card - Photocopy and fold this When the Guides have interviewed all the books ask them to give their ideas on WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE to create HUMAN? A good activity is to cut out cloud shaped pieces of paper, ask them to write their thoughts on it and stick small library them on a large poster, cloud words. cards for your girls. ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

Imagination encircles the world.’ Albert Einstein

______Ireland? Ireland?

______THOUGHTS: What can you tell us about Equality and Inclusion in in Inclusion and Equality about us tell you can What

How do you like to be treated? treated? be to like you do How

6______6______Why were you interested in being a book? book? a being in interested you were Why

5______5______What do you know about Guiding/Scouting? Guiding/Scouting? about know you do What

4______4______What are your hobbies? hobbies? your are What

3______3______Where are you from? from? you are Where

2______2______

(that you might like to start the conversation) conversation) the start to like might you (that 1______1______

Sample Questions: Questions: Sample BOOKS INTERVIEWED: INTERVIEWED: BOOKS

Don’t Judge a Book by it’s Cover

Human Library

“People on Loan” Guides Name: ______Unit: ______We hope you enjoyed your visit to the Human Library Age: ______We’d like to thank our Human Books for their time and energy HUMAN LIBRARY to you Bright Committee By the EDI

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 19 Programme Review — Time for a Change

The Programme Review Steering Group is now almost halfway through our work – nevertheless we are very conscious that the next 20 months will probably provide some of the greatest challenges in our Guiding lives! So we thought we should share with you the results of the surveys that so many of you helped us with and give you an update on the work of the Task and Finish Groups.

Surveys

In spring 2012 the Programme Review Steering Group undertook a quantitative survey. The results of the surveys can be found by following these links*:

♦ IGG Programme Review Survey 2012 Results and Analysis: http://bit.ly/IGGSurvey1 ♦ IGG Programme Review Survey 2012 Results and Analysis - Executive Summary: http://bit.ly/IGGSurvey2

Following this analysis the Programme Review Steering Group undertook 47 focus groups at CAMP 101 which supported the results of the quantitative survey results. The focus groups results can be found here*:

♦ Focus Group Results Camp 101 July 2012 Analysis http://bit.ly/IGGSurvey3

The results of the surveys will ensure that we are responsive to the needs of members when designing the framework for the new programme.

* Please note that the links above are held in a private space on the internet and so are not available to the public unless someone follows the exact link given above. Task and Finish Groups

The work of the Programme Review is now into its next phase of ‘Reinvent’. Thank you to everyone who took up our call to help develop the new programme. We held a very successful weekend in Avon Rí, Blessington from 3 to 4 November to establish these Task and Finish Groups. The 8 members of the Programme Review Steering Group were delighted to be joined by 36 volunteers on the weekend. It was energising to see so many Leaders willing to ‘roll up their sleeves’ to help us develop the new programme.

The weekend started by presenting the participants with the results from both the quantitative and qualitative analysis of members. This was followed by a presentation on the development of the girl (physical, cognitive, social and emotional). The participants then worked in groups of 4 to demonstrate how they would develop a progressive programme for each Branch taking a sample word e.g. outdoors. This provided the foundation for the weekend and the work for the year ahead.

The next activity involved almost 200 cards each with a keyword that described an aspect of the Guiding programme. These cards were spread around the room and the participants, through a serious of activities, divided them into 5 themes.

The Task and Finish Group volunteers then self-selected themselves into the 5 thematic working groups. Each Group will develop programme materials for all branches under the following themes: Community; Global Awareness; Outdoors; Promise, Law, Guiding Values; and Personal Development

The Task and Finish Groups have agreed to undertake a huge amount of work over the coming year and we plan to have another weekend meeting with everyone next spring. If you are interested in helping one of the teams then please email [email protected] and we can send your details onto the team concerned.

We hope you found this update useful! Yours in Guiding, Jillian, Anne, Ellen, Pauline, Katherine, Louise, Sonya & Susanne Programme Review Steering Group

Page 20 Trefoil News January 2013 CHARITY COLLABORATIONS Every year IGG receives dozens of requests from various charities/other voluntary organisations to take part In fundraising or joint ventures. It’s not always possible for us to take up every offer and we don’t want to make our Leaders partake in fundraising every year, especially considering how much you already do for the World Thinking Day fund and how much you raised over the course of 2011 for the Centenary Charities. So we have decided to start this new section in Trefoil News where we will tell you about the possible collaborations and leave it up to you at a local level to decide on which ones suit you. This month we’re featuring a project sent in by Navan Girl Guides in collaboration with the Meath Simon Community—the girls stayed out on the street for an evening to experience homelessness.

In early October 2012, the Navan Girl Guides linked with the Meath Simon Community to explore homelessness. We were prepared for the cold with our cardboard sitters, warm coats, hats, gloves, sleeping bags and bivvy bags. We discussed what kind of people find themselves homeless and why and what homelessness means. We talked about what we would do if we became homeless and how we would feel. Nicola Glennon from the Simon Community told us about what supports are there for people who find themselves in difficulty. We asked her how could we help someone homeless and she reminded us of our chat earlier about how we would feel, she said that to simply say hello and acknowledge someone is something we could all do, we could give a small amount of change, or if you had the time you could buy a sandwich and a drink for them. She re- minded us that our safety was important too and to be sensible and careful. One of our Guides had written a poem for the evening:-

Homeless You don't know what it's like, people ignore us like we are rats, we have feelings too you know, nobody helps, nobody listens, nobody cares, won't somebody help us? we are humans too you know

Sarah McShane Navan Girl Guides

In pairs we looked at some pictures and described how they related to poverty. We then played volleyball with a ball made out of crushed up newspaper in a carrier bag which showed us how you could have fun if you lived in poverty. As it got later, the streets got busier and you could imagine how frightening it would be if we had to sleep out all night. To warm us up before heading home, we had hot chocolate which was yummy! We felt very lucky to be going home to our warm homes.

Together we managed to collect a whole car load of bedding which we were happy to donate to keep the Meath homeless warm this winter. We donated our subs and a little more; and passers by also made donations, the total amount raised was €70.94. We had fun, learnt a lot and helped people all at the same time. A great Guide night!

To Support the Simon Community in your area or organise a similar project — check out www.simon.ie to find your local Simon Community.

Simon Community has a variety of tools, activity packs, educational packs and projects that the girls can participate in, building their awareness of the causes of homelessness and in many cases offering them opportunities to be actively involved in tackling homelessness

A speaker would be delighted to visit your group, speak to the girls and work with you in whatever way is most appropriate.

You could organise a fundraiser if you want to make a financial donation or have a food drive collecting non-perishable items to donate to your local Simon Community or collect and donate sleeping bags etc

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 21 OUT AND ABOUT

Molaise Ladybirds out and about before the cold months!

Ardagh Brownie Sleepover

Howth Brownies gave the DSPCA over 3000 stamps (after having a little bit of fun with them first) and a donation of €150 to help look after all the puppies. The girls all loved the doggy that came to visit from the DSPCA.

Have you been Out and About? Tell us about it Carrie Dalton (winner of the [email protected] over 9's poster competition for Brownies) receiving her prize from Leader Sarah Condron.

Page 22 Trefoil News January 2013 OUT AND ABOUT

Ardfert Ladybird Unit had a wonderful first ever enrolment ceremony where our little Ladybirds received their enrolment pins and CAMP 101 badges. Our 5 Leaders were also enrolled on the night. We were hoping we might make it into Trefoil News - the girls would be very excited. Anna Raymond

—> Your wish is our command Anna, Welcome to all of the new members in Ardfert!

RathfarnhamLadybirdsandBrownies tookpartintheChristmasshoebox appeal.Welldonegirls.Greatwork.

Ballybough Brownies tried a little bit of indoor tent pitching last month. Looks good.

Have you been Out and About? Tell us about it [email protected]

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 23 LADYBIRDS

Welcome back everyone and a Happy New Year to all. As World Thinking Day fast approaches – this year 2013, we have two MDG’s for World Thinking Day, because the lives of women and their children are woven together. Healthy mothers are more likely to have healthy babies.

We appreciate that exploring these topics with Ladybirds is sensitive – so the focus on (MDG5) is how important mothers are to Ladybirds at this stage in their lives and (MDG4) is what all children in the world need to stay healthy. We have included some simple SAVE THE WEEK – activities for you to use in your Unit for both themes. TH 20/27 APRIL 2013 Of course we will think of all our Guiding Friends around the world on February 22nd and this is a good time for Ladybirds to complete their International Badge. The requirements LADYBIRD are for Ladybirds to complete two pages from the Indigo Spot in “I am a Ladybird”. We’ve some fun activities included in this month’s Trefoil News to get you started. CIRCUS/CARNIVAL

Ladybird Branch THEMED MEETINGS

“Together we can save children’s lives” – MDG 4

In developing countries, many children have to drink very dirty water full of germs. Discuss with Ladybirds how germs can make you sick – how germs move, where they go and how to get rid of them. Do the following simple activities to demonstrate how germs spread.

Germ Transfer Many germs get passed from person to person during everyday interactions. This game will show you how easy it is for germs to spread. You need - Glitter , baby wipes

Pretend to sneeze – cover your hands in glitter and go about your business at the meeting, touching things as you go. The Ladybirds will see the transfer of the glitter onto all the surfaces. Explain that the glitter represents germs from your sneeze and how they are spread. Have the Ladybirds find and count all the surfaces you touched and where the “germs” now live. Wipe off the glitter with a baby wipe or add more glitter and try the next game.

Glitter Hands Some children only rinse their hands quickly under water. Hands should be scrubbed with antibacterial soap for at least 20 seconds. To demonstrate that, try the following:

You need – Glitter, warmish water and soap.

♦ Sprinkle glitter on each Ladybirds’ hands. ♦ Challenge them to wash off the glitter with the soap and water. ♦ The glitter is naturally sticky and will take Ladybird about 30 seconds to clean the glitter away. ♦ Tell the Ladybirds that germs can stick to your hands like the glitter, so we should always take this amount of time and scrubbing to ensure “clean” hands.

Hand Washing Song How long do you think you should wash your hands to get rid of germs? Find out how to wash your hands properly. Make up or find a 20-second song people can sing while washing their hands. You may want to add actions.

Sing the BOGGARTY song from the Ladybird/Brownie Action DVD.

Page 24 Trefoil News January 2013 LADYBIRDS

“Every mother’s life and Birth Stories health is precious”– MDG 5 AIM: To chat about themselves as babies and to remind them of happy and funny stories. NOTE TO LEADERS: Leaders should be aware of the TIME: 40 Minutes personal circumstances for each of their Ladybirds. If one or WHAT YOU NEED: Baby photo of each girl. more girls has lost her mother or her mother is very ill these activities may not be suitable for your Unit. WHAT TO DO: Get the girls to write their own stories. They should ask their Explaining to Ladybirds: When a mother has a new baby, it parents to help them, maybe start with a photo and then ask is a big job for her. We have good hospitals in Ireland where questions like mothers and babies are cared for. New babies and mothers in poor countries need extra help and care. •Where was I born? •Did I have hair? The two activities below have been taken from the IGG GAT •How much did I weigh? Pack — see the pack for more ideas about the other MDG’s. •Was I born early? Late? Or right on time?

Let’s Play Mother Group Activity — “Why I love my Mum”

AIM: To show the girls what’s involved in caring for a baby. Ladybirds make a big circle – Leader stands in the centre and TIME: 30 Minutes asks …….. WHAT YOU NEED: Baby doll, with clothes and nappies. What is your Mum’s name? WHAT TO DO: Your Mum is special because…… Bring in baby dolls for a meeting – feed the dolls, change Mums can do many things, what is your mum best at? them and dress them, put them to sleep etc. Mums are smart ….. they even know how to …… What do you really like to do with your mum? When she cooks my favourite dinner, I say……. I’d like to tell my mum…….

Give each Ladybird time to speak and as always the Leader can guide/control the discussion.

Follow this up by making the “I love my Mum” card below.

I Love My Mum Card

You will need: Flower template for each Ladybird, piece of coloured card, folded in half, glue, scissors, colours.

♦ Cut out your flower parts ♦ On each of the six petals, draw or write a reason why you love your mother ♦ Glue petals to back of circle ♦ Glue flower onto coloured card.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 25 LADYBIRDS INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRALIA - GUMNUTS SONG AND GAME THE NETHERLANDS - CRAFT

Singing Animals Make a Windmill Tune: Frere Jacques You need: Cuddly Koalas Hug yourself Strong paper or thin card cut into 15cm Cuddly Koalas squares, brass split pin, wooden stick, Possums too Make your thumb and first fingers scissors. Possums too into spectacles What to do: Wallabies and wombats Hands out to the sides, move up • Fold the square of card into quarters diagonally Wallabies and wombats and down • Mark approx. 2cm from the centre on each fold, then cut Kangaroos Hands in front and jumping with along each fold from the corner to the mark Kangaroos feet together. • Fold alternate corners to the centre • Fix all four corners to the centre using the split pin Kangaroo Jump • Use the split pin to fix the card to the wooden stick • Make sure there is room between the card and the stick You will need two teams. This is a relay race where players for the windmill to rotate. must hop up and down the room with a balloon between their knees. The balloon must then be passed from one player to Make a Tulip another in her team without using their hands. You need: CANADA - SPARKS MARS BAR GAME Tissue paper of different colours, green crepe paper , straws, glue You need : Fun size Mars Bars (Lots), 2 Dice (more What to do: may be needed if the group is particularly • Cut out petal shapes from the coloured tissue paper large), 3 or 4 Hats • Wind green crepe paper around the straw to form the stalk • Glue petals to the top of the stalk • Curl the ends to give a petal effect What to do: SOUTH AFRICA - TEDDIES SONG • Girls sit in a circle. Place the bars and the hats on a chair / Tune – Ten Green Bottles table in the centre of the circle. • Give the dice to 2 girls sitting facing each other in the (The number of Teddies in the song should be the same as circle. Each girl throws the dice and passes it on in a the number of Ladybirds at your meeting)

clockwise direction. Five yellow Teddies sitting on a wall • If a girl gets a 6 then she jumps up, runs clockwise around Five yellow Teddies sitting on a wall the outside of the circle, through her space into the centre And if one yellow Teddy should accidently fall of the circle and puts on a hat then grabs a bar, (however There’d be four yellow Teddies sitting on a wall there may be someone after her if they have rolled a 6 in the meantime and if she is tagged by another girl before Ladybirds walk around in a circle as they sing. she takes the bar, she must take off the hat as quickly as In the centre of the circle is a small mat which each Ladybird possible to allow the other girl put it on). steps onto in turn. • Runs back to her place with bar in hand (hopefully) and Whoever is on the mat when “Fall” is sung must sit down. gives hat to Leader to return to the table at centre of the Everyone should be seated by the end of the song. circle. • Only an untagged girl may take a bar. • Continue until there are no more bars.

Page 26 Trefoil News January 2013 LADYBIRDS

Flag Colouring Code 1 = Red 2=Blue 3=Green 4= Black 5=Yellow/Gold

AUSTRALIA

1 SOUTH AFRICA

2

1

4 3 5

2 CANADA

1 1 1

NETHERLANDS

1

2

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 27 Brownies

Hi all Q: Where can I get pictures of C Your Brownie Uniforms around the world? o Welcome back to a New Year, new ideas and r ne some fun. I hope you all had a happy and healthy A: There was a chart at one stage of uniforms from r! holiday and are ready for the exciting year ahead. around the world. There may still be one in your Region; !! Hopefully you will have completed your Unit’s however uniforms change over time so the easiest way is to go table quiz and are ready to take part in the area online and look at Guiding in the country you are interested in. Use quiz in the coming weeks. This month we have a search engine such as Google (www.google.com) To find a uniform I information on MDG’s 4 and 5 which are the usually type in - Girl Guiding in ?? (country name) then leave a space theme of this year’s Thinking Day but more and type in uniform. You will be surprised at the amount of results you information can be got from the GAT Resource get and they are usually most up-to-date too. You could also go to the Pack you would have received a while back. WAGGGS page (www.wagggsworld.org) and look at the tab that says While working on these topics remember Ireland ‘our world’. There you can look up information on all the countries who is one of the WAGGGS focus countries this year are members of WAGGGS. and that ‘together we can change our world’. Happy Guiding If you would like to share your favourite meeting, game or activity, Brownie Branch please email Brownie Branch. Or If you have a question or query you’d like answered in 'Your Corner' simply email [email protected] or send it by post to Martina Fox C/O National Office.

An unbirthday is an event that can be celebrated on any day that is not the person's birthday. WELL THIS MONTH WHY NOT HAVE AN UN-MOTHERS’ DAY!

You can do this by making mum a card, or a gift and presenting it to her just because she’s mum.

Why not let her have a cup of tea on you!

TEA POT CARD

You will need: Scissors, card, colours, paper, stickers etc (optional), teabag

• Fold your piece of card in half. • Draw around your teapot template making sure that the teapot handle is along the fold. • Cut around your teapot leaving a join at the fold. • Open the card and write in the following poem inside. For all the special things you do for me … Enjoy a steaming hot cup of tea.. • On the other inside part of the card stick your teabag. • Decorate the teapot as you like with any materials available. TEA POT CARD TEMPLATE

Page 28 Trefoil News January 2013 Brownies

Wo The Role of a Mother rld Thin MDG king 4 – Day and Red 20 AIM: To remind the girls how vital their Mums are to the family MD uce 13 Th H G 5 Chi em TIME: 20 Minutes ealt – Im ld M e: h. “T pro orta WHAT YOU NEED: Pre-cut circles with “Mother” on it. c og ve lity hildr ethe Mat en’s r we erna mo live can l ther s” a sa WHAT TO DO: ’s lif nd ve e an “eve Give the Brownies in pairs or Sixes a circular card with the word MOTHER in the p d he ry recio alth centre and ask them to write down all the things a mother is or does. us” is

Discuss the results, then ask them to think about what might happen if their mother gets ill, goes away etc and how they would feel. This could then lead on to how to be healthy MDG 4 because if she becomes ill, it causes problems.

CARER COOK

MOTHER

COMFORTER NURSE

BABYSITTER

Fro HELPER mIGG GAT ’S Pack chec — k it out so for FEMALE PARENT me oth gre er at ide PROVIDER as

Play a game from Kenya to celebrate our Sister Guides around the world.

Mother, Father, Baby 1. The Brownies stand in a circle. Divide into groups of three. In each group you have a mother, father and a baby. 2. Place a beanbag in the middle of a circle. The Leader calls a name and whoever is called runs around the outside of the circle. The other two members of the team stand one in front of the other with their legs apart. 3. When the Leader shouts ‘home’ everyone must keep going until they get back to their own group, then they must crawl underneath their partner’s legs into the middle of the circle. 4. Whoever gets to the beanbag first is the winner.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 29 Brownies Clean Water for Life

Many children in the world today do not have clean water to drink. Some school children in Africa are learning how to clean water with the help of the sun. The sun can also help you to make a water cleaner.

Instructions 1. Mix a small amount of soil into 1 litre of water. 2. Pour the dirty water in a large bowl. 3. Put a glass in the centre of the bowl. 4. Put the bowl into a plastic bag and seal it shut. 5. Put a stone on the plastic over the glass. 6. Leave the water cleaner in the sun all day. 7. Remove the plastic

What can be seen?

Bounce Place two vertical lines facing each other about two metres apart. These will become the throw lines during the game. Divide the group in two teams, A and B. Ask them to think about things that can make them healthier. Focus on action ideas. Each group should come up with as many ideas as possible. But they are not allowed to write any down. Each individual should try to remember at least two. Each team lines up behind a line. The first Brownie in each team faces each other, and the other members line up behind them. Team A starts and the first Brownie in that team has to name one of their ideas and bounce the ball over to the other team. Then the Brownie who threw the ball goes to the end of her own line. When the first Brownie in Team B catches the ball, she does the same thing – names her suggestion and bounces the ball back to Team A.

Variation: - The ball gets thrown from one Brownie to another across the line. The Brownie who gets the ball has to com- plete one of the following statements:

I feel healthy when... To stay healthy I need... I become unhealthy when...

They then throw the ball again. Keep playing until everyone has had a turn Take a note of the ideas generated by the game and see if the group can agree a common definition of health.

Not all children have the same chances of leading a long and healthy life. Children from poor families or who Hand-washing Song belong to groups that face Wash, wash, wash your hands, discrimination are the most likely to Often every day, get sick or die. Children in the Don’t forget to use the soap developing world – and particularly and wash those germs away girls – are most at risk of dying before One of the ways we can keep their fifth birthday. healthier is to wash our hands – Wash, wash, wash your hands, Every time you eat, These gaps are not caused by as germs can easily be passed biological reasons. They are caused by and then when we put our hands After flushing the toilet, avoidable and unfair differences in the in our mouth we can pick up bugs Clean hands can’t be beat conditions in which children are born, and get Diarrhoea which is a big (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat) grow and live out their daily lives. problem for children’s health in Closing the gaps means taking action poorer countries. to improve the conditions of children’s lives.

Page 30 Trefoil News January 2013 Brownies

WHAT WE NEED TO BE HEALTHY AND SURVIVE QUICK FACTS: HAND WASHING Brainstorm the things infants and children need to be healthy and survive. You can Hand washing with soap prevents show your answers with pictures from old magazines, drawings, words, or a the spread of germs and combination of these. Try to think beyond just the biological necessities to the things parasites. Because it can prevent that help you feel happy and make life worthwhile – for example, people who love so many different infections and you, feeling like you are valued, taking part in your community, and having a strong diseases, the Global Public- cultural identity Private Partnership for Hand washing says that hand washing is more effective than any single GERM JOURNEYS vaccine. Do you know how germs move, where they go, or how to get rid of them? Cover your hands in an oil-based moisturizer like petroleum jelly or coconut oil. Sprinkle glitter or crushed dried herbs on your hands. Each member can use a different colour. See where the “germs” go – rub your hands together, touch objects around the room, shake hands with other members. Now, it’s time to clean up. Wash your QUICK FACTS: DIARRHOEA hands with soap – stop at 10 seconds, 30 seconds and 60 seconds to see how the Diarrhoea is one of the two amount of germs left on your hands changes with time. See if you get more germs biggest child killers after the first off when you follow the hand washing instructions. Don’t forget to clean up weeks of life. Diarrhoea was everything you touched. responsible for the deaths of 836,000 children in 2010.

You rhe Tame the Stress Monster im alth is porta an fo ntreso ryourev urce Our emotions affect our bodies. Stress can be positive, energizing us and motivating us to get things eryda done. It can also be negative, affecting our body and feelings. When women are pregnant, their y life emotions can also affect the baby. Create a “monster” to show what stress looks and feels like. Now add pictures and words of the things that give you stress– for example, tests at school or an argument with a family member. Can you think of healthy ways that we can cope with the stresses in their lives? Draw a cage around your stress monster and add your ideas for managing stress. Share your ideas with your group. Let’s…Get active!

There are many ways to get physical activity. Stand in a circle with your group. One mem- ber will say “let’s…” along with a way to be active (for example, “let’s go for a swim!”), and will make a movement related to that activity. Everyone will respond by saying, “yes, let’s…” and copying the movement. Each Brownie will share a different physical activity until your group runs out of ideas. Reflect on what you learned about being active.

Many people in my life

You have relationships with many different people: parents/guardians, siblings, cousins, friends, teachers, neighbours and more! Draw a circle in the middle of a big piece of paper. This circle represents you. Think of all the different people in your life. Add shapes to your drawing for each person. Put the shapes for the people who are special to you closest to the circle in the middle of your paper. What are some things that each person does that make them special to you?

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 31 GUIDES Dear Leaders,

Happy New Year to all. We hope you had a restful break and are now ready for another busy year. Don’t forget we have changed the dates for Gold Awards and we hope this is taking the pressure off you and your Guides. This month we are including the guidelines for the use of the Gold Award booklet Guide Branch GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF GOLD AWARD BOOKLET

Gold Award Booklets are available in the Distribution Centres @ €1-80. Only these booklets will be accepted and must be received in National Office by 5-00p.m on the 30th August 2013. The Guide must be 14yrs of age in 2013

Page 1: Guide’s name, address, DOB etc must be filled in clearly by the Guide herself. If this information is unclear it may cause a delay in the award being processed, therefore all this information should be checked by the Unit Leader before sending the booklet to be signed by others.

Pages 2/3/4/5/6/7/8: These pages are a record of the work already done by the Guide and the dates of completion of each section (Spruce, Copper Beech, Silver Birch) in Just for A Guide are transferred to their Gold Award Booklet and signed by the Unit Leader in charge now. Please note if girls join the Unit at an older age they must complete all these sections plus numbered challenges.

Pages 9-15 these are the pages where the Guide must work hard. The Gold Award standard is very much an individual award for each Guide, however it is the highest award in Guiding and it is each Leader’s responsibility to ensure their Guides stretch themselves to their highest potential. In these pages we are encouraging the girls to give a summary/ add comments/add photos etc of the total work they have done for each section. Their numbered challenges must also be recorded here.

Outdoor section: The Guide must camp under canvas for 2 nights while working on her Gold Award. We realise some Guides may take longer than others to complete the Gold Award challenges and therefore may have started their Gold Award with the outdoor section in 2012.

Page 16: This is a very important page and it is one the Unit Leader (now) has to be responsible for. It is up to the Leader in charge to make sure a Commissioner has time to read the booklet before she signs it and it is up to the Unit Leader to make sure it is sent to the Regional Commissioner allowing time for her to send it to Guide Branch, , Trefoil House, 27 Pembroke Park, Dublin 4 on or before 3oth August 2013

This is a log book only of the work carried out by the Guide to achieve this award. It is up to the Leader in charge (now) to ensure that the work carried out by the Guide is carried out to the highest standard.

REMINDER - Closing date for receipt of Gold Award booklets 30th August 2013. (Booklets can be sent to Guide Branch c/o National Office anytime up to 30th August ’13) PRESENTATION DATE WILL BE 28TH SEPTEMBER 2013. VENUE: THE GRESHAM, O’CONNELL ST., DUBLIN 1

Page 32 Trefoil News January 2013 GUIDES HISTORY OF GUIDING

Give each Guide in each circle, or Patrol a name or names from the list below. They will run when they hear their name

Robert Baden-Powell (8) Agnes Baden-Powell (3) Olave Baden-Powell (4) (4) Girl Scouts (5) Girl Guides (5) Thinking Day (3) (everybody runs)

The (numbers) indicate how many times that Guide runs. On the word "Thinking Day" the whole Patrol (group) joins hands and run together.

Read the story aloud, giving the girls time to run down the room around a chair and back to their Patrol (group) before proceeding. This game can be scored if desired.

In 1907, ROBERT BADEN-POWELL, who had returned from the Boer War with ideas for the training of boys, ran an experimental camp on Brownsea island. The following year, he published "", and all over the country boys began meeting together and calling themselves BOY SCOUTS. In September 1909 Scouts attended the Rally at Crystal Palace. At the march pass, ROBERT BADEN-POWELL noticed at the back a group of girls. "Who are you?" he asked. "We are GIRL SCOUTS", they replied. "But there aren't any GIRL SCOUTS", Robert said. "Yes there are, for we are they", the girls replied.

ROBERT BADEN-POWELL realized that something would have to be done for the girls, so he asked his sister, AGNES BADEN-POWELL to organize them as GIRL GUIDES; in 1910 the first companies were registered, the first being Miss AGNES BADEN-POWELL'S own.

In 1912, ROBERT BADEN-POWELL, began an eight month tour, visiting BOY SCOUTS in West Indies, Australia and new Zealand. On board ship, he met Olave St. Clair Soames, and by the end of the journey they were engaged. They married on October 30, 1912 and their wedding gift from the BOY SCOUTS was a motor car, for which each Scout gave one penny.

OLAVE BADEN-POWELL quickly became involved in her husband's Scouting activities.

By this time the country was at war and ROBERT BADEN-POWELL had offered his services, although he was close to sixty years of age. The King told him that his work with the BOY SCOUTS was more important. In 1920 he was proclaimed Chief Scout of the World. OLAVE BADEN-POWELL had been acclaimed World Chief Guide in 1918.

In 1926, a Guider made a suggestion that, since ROBERT BADEN-POWELL and OLAVE BADEN-POWELL shared the same birthday, February 22nd, this day was a special day to all GIRL GUIDES and GIRL SCOUTS around the world. In 1927, THINKING DAY began to be celebrated. Following an idea of a Belgian Guider in 1931, everyone was encouraged to give one penny on that day towards the THINKING DAY fund.

So - now you know that Guiding began in 1910 and moved to Ireland in 1911, founded by ROBERT BADEN-POWELL and AGNES BADEN-POWELL, and that every year GIRL GUIDES and GIRL SCOUTS throughout the world celebrate the joint birthday of ROBERT BADEN-POWELL and his wife OLAVE BADEN-POWELL, on the 22nd of February, THINKING DAY

Remember to work on the Lord and Lady Baden-Powell Badges with your girls. The history story above would be a great lead into these badges. The badges will help when teaching them about the origins of Guiding at this special time of year, World Thinking Day.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 33 GUIDES Keep Warm in the Winter - Try the Chocolate Badge… Nom, nom,nom

Aim: To learn the story of chocolate and its many uses.

1. Find out about the history of chocolate. Act out the story with your Patrol. Or find out how chocolate is made by taking part in the activity “Matching Pairs” in I.G.G.’s ‘Concerned about Chocolate’ resource pack which you should have or you can download from the I.G.G. website. 2. Find out about fair trade chocolate products (see I.G.G.’s ‘Concerned about Chocolate’ resource pack) Compare a fair trade bar with an ordinary bar. How do they compare on price, packaging and taste? Take part in the activity “Chocolate Taste Test” from I.G.G.’s ‘Concerned about Chocolate’ resource pack. 3. 3Design a wrapper for a 21st century chocolate bar. Invent its name as well as its design. Draw out your design or make a mock chocolate bar. 4. Make at least two of the following using chocolate: • Ribbons • Curls • Leaves • Baskets • Writing • Boxes • Cut-outs • Ganache 5. Make up a game using chocolates and play it with your Patrol. 6. Make a selection of sweets using melted chocolate. Work out how much they cost and compare the price to bought chocolates. Make Hot Chocolate Aim: To teach girls about the origins of cocoa and how drinking chocolate came well before the chocolate sweet or bar and to teach them how to make hot chocolate Materials: A portable stove (or you may have a stove available in your hall), milk (1/4 of a litre per person), Traid craft drinking chocolate if available (or cocoa), marshmallows, mugs, spoons. Instructions: 1. Boil the milk on the stove 2. Ask the girls to prepare their cup by putting one spoonful of drinking chocolate into their mug. 3. While drinking hot chocolate, sit everyone in a circle and tell the story of the history of Chocolate which can be downloaded from the IGG website.

Other activities your girls may like to try... ♦ Design an A3 poster about the History of Chocolate using Internet, Library, magazines, chocolate wrappers etc. Find out the ingredients to make chocolate, cocoa production, country of origin different manufacturers etc. ♦ Design and bake a chocolate cake, giving the ingredients, method, and costing. Bring it into your Unit and let them have a taste…. ♦ Design a label for your cake taking into account who would be buying the cake, occasion and costing. ♦ Give a demonstration on how to make a very simple inexpensive chocolate or truffle and get the girls in your Unit to have a go.

Mars Bar Game Get the girls to shake a dice as they sit in the circle. If they get a six they must run around the outside of the circle and back into the centre through their place. Put on a scarf, hat and pair of gloves. They must then cut a piece off the mars bar with a knife and fork and if they succeed they get to eat what they cut off. Meanwhile the girls continue to pass the dice around. If someone else gets a six they run around the circle etc. and take over from the person in the middle. (Tip: place mars bar in fridge for a few hours before the game as this makes it last longer.)

Page 34 Trefoil News January 2013 GUIDES CRAFTS

Homemade Body Scrub

Slough off dry winter skin with an invigorating homemade body scrub. It's easy, all-natural, and so inexpensive, you'll want to make enough for gifts.

What you need: • Body oil e.g. Burts Bees Body Oil • Epsom salt, sea salt, or organic cane sugar • 12 oz. PET Jar with cap • Lemon zest

What to do: Combine 1 cup of body oil with 2 cups of Epsom or sea salts or organic cane sugar (depending on how fine a grain you like). We added lemon zest for colour and fragrance. Package in jars (plastic is safest by the tub). You could wrap a ribbon around the jar and make your own label.

Valentine Treat Cups

These sweet treat cups are a wonderful way to give loved ones something sweet this Valentine's Day.

What you need: • Clear Plastic cup • Card • Scissors • Craft knife • Double-sided tape • Double-sided crepe paper • Candy • Gold trim • Gold ribbon or rope • Bows etc.

What to do:

1. Cut your card to size of cup. Cut out with scissors.. 2. Cut out heart shape from centre of card piece with a heart shaped cutter 3. Wrap card around cup and secure with double-sided tape. Tip: Gently curve card with your hands first to avoid the paper cracking and folding when wrapped around cup. 4. Cut a 12-by-12-inch piece of double-sided crepe paper in half. Place double-sided tape along one long edge and wrap this edge around top of cup. 5. Glue gold trim around cup where the crepe paper meets the card.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 35 SENIOR BRANCH

This year the theme for World Thinking Day is MDG’s 4 & 5 – “together we can save children’s lives” and “every mother’s life and health is precious”. These two MDGs are tightly interlinked; healthy mums are much more likely to have healthy babies. They are also very relevant to Senior Branch. In many countries girls of Senior Branch age are already married and having families of their own.

Did you know that pregnancy and child-birth related deaths are the number one killers of 15-19 year-old girls in low income countries?

Try out some of the activities below, not only will you learn lots you will also be completing sections of the GAT (Global Action Theme) Badge as well as the International and Women’s Issues modules of your Senior Star. How’s that for multi-tasking?

• Read about childhood immunisation in Ireland at the following website: www.immunisation.ie/en/ChildhoodImmunisation/

• Find out what vaccines you received as a baby and what others you might have had since. Together as a group draw a chart or brainstorm how vaccinations and reducing child mortality is linked with the other MDGs.

• As a group discuss the possible causes of death of children in countries in the Global South. Choose one of the causes and identify 3 possible solutions for that problem.

• Visit the Irish Aid Website and read about their work on MDG 4. Do you think enough is being done by Ireland in relation to MDG 4? If you would like to see more being done, write a letter explaining your reasons and suggestions to the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Joe Costello T.D. at: Dáil Eireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2

• Perform a role play about two teenage friends where one girl is pregnant and the other one is not. How do they each plan their future after finishing school?

• Research the health risks of adolescent pregnancies. Visit a family planning clinic and find out about the ways they try to prevent adolescent pregnancy.

• On a map of the world, identify the countries with the highest child mortality rates. Find out one fact about five of these countries which is linked to the issue of child mortality and write a short newspaper article.

• Discuss how you would react if one girl in your group was pregnant. Who would she turn to for advice on pregnancy and childcare? What supports are in place?

• Infant and maternal health is not just an issue for low-income countries. Have a discussion about the experiences of girls and women in Ireland. What barriers may stop someone accessing the healthcare or supports that they need? What cultural or religious reasons may have an effect on their experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood?

Page 36 Trefoil News January 2013 February Spring2013 Summer2013

BranchDay/SB18thBirthdayBash LightweightWeekend Chief’s/ExplorerBelt

How does domestic violence relate to these MDGs? Get involved in WAGGGS’ Stop the Violence Campaign to ensure that girls and young women can live a life without the fear or violence. From a Whisper to a Shout

Globally up to six out of every ten girls and women will experience violence in their lifetimes. We think too many people have been silent on this issue for too long. Building from a whisper to a shout we need to talk, join together and inspire action around the world.

So are you ready to make some noise with us and speak out for girls’ rights?

; The first person starts with a fast clap, they continue and the next person adds their clap. ; This happens around the circle until everyone is clapping ; The first person adds in stamping on the floor (and still keeping the clap going), this is passed around the circle until everyone is clapping and stamping ; The first person starts repeating ‘stop the violence’ and this is passed around the circle until everyone is stamping, clapping and saying “stop the violence.” ; The noise gets louder and faster until the facilitator signals for everything to stop by jumping in the air and shouting “stop the violence!”

These are some of the reasons why we need to come together to Stop the Violence:

♦ In Europe, seven women die every day from male domestic violence ♦ One in five women in Europe have been subject to domestic violence ♦ One in four female students on UK campuses have been subject to an unwanted sexual experience at University or College ♦ 80,000 women experience rape or attempted rape in the UK every year ♦ 40-50 percent of women in the EU have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace

These are just a sample of the facts available, check out www.stoptheviolencecampaign.com for more information.

Now that you have mastered the Mexican Wave of Noise, and you know why this issue is important, what can you do?

At home: Talk about the campaign with your friends and family, educate them on the facts.

In your community: Make a poster or a presentation for a public area, download the Pledge Cards from the campaign website and ask others to join you.

Online: Make a video of your group moving from a Whisper to a Shout, share it with all your networks to spread the message.

In public: Organise a flashmob, write the facts on big cards and practice your Mexican wave. Perform it somewhere public where lots of people can find out more about the campaign.

Decision makers: Contact a public representative; it can be a local councillor or a national TD. Write to them about the issue of violence against girls and women. Send them a copy of your video or a link to the campaign website.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 37 International— @ CAMP 101

Last summer’s successful camp welcomed many visitors from all over the world to Lough Key Forest Park. For years in some cases, international participants, Leaders and staff planned their trips to Ireland.

Irish Guides got the opportunity to share their sub-camps with our guests who were encouraged to get involved in all activities. Anyone who was present will long remember the spectacular performance by the Indian contingent as they won Lough Key’s Got Talent. Many International adults became integral parts of the running of the camp; cooking in the kitchen, leading overnight survival or delivering workshops.

There was a dedicated team of IGG members who looked after the particular needs of international delegations before and during the camp. After long flights, the international guests were surely delighted to be met by a sister Guide at the airport, ready to show them the way to the bus that would bring them to Roscommon. The International team of central staff was led by Margaret Corr. She ensured the smooth operation of the International Tent.

What was planned as a drop in information tent soon became home to new friendships that crossed language and cultural barriers. The tent was adorned with flags of all the participant countries and each group created a display that explained a little about their homeland and Guiding in particular. There were Irish crafts for Leaders and a constant supply of tea, crisps and chocolate!

Swapping badges and trinkets is an international camp tradition and the Canadians in particular arrived well-prepared. Our tent was frequently a hive of activity as people sought out different badges. A night of Irish music and dance was arranged so visitors could get a taste of the traditional.

Trips around the lake and into Boyle were organised by the team. A service of charging Leaders’ phones was provided so our visitors could keep in touch with loved ones and the parents of the Guides they had brought across continents. A friendly ear and advice was always available when any issues arose. The flag raising ceremony by the lake each morning allowed for a clear signal of the diversity of nations attending the camp.

The International Tent allowed for new Guiding friendships to be formed that will hopefully last a lifetime. Sinead Crilly

Just some of our International Guests at CAMP 101

Page 38 Trefoil News January 2013 International — Travellers Tales

Of course in true Guiding style, all of these sessions were delivered with plenty of time for questions, games, arts and crafts and even a little bit of running around in the snow! During one session we were learning all about the WAGGGS Stop the Violence campaign. It was an optional session and there was a wide game on in the forest that evening so only 10 people had turned up. We decided that everyone needed to know about it and so organised a flash mob for lunchtime the next day. At 12.30 we climbed up on the tables in the canteen and told everyone why they needed to help Stop the Violence!!! It was great to hear so many people joining in with our chant and signing up to a great cause.

Attending The Academy has been one of the highlights of my During the course of the week we also had a Swiss evening Guiding experience so far! When I was asked to go to a where we listened to traditional music and ate cheese fondue training and bring back some more ideas for the until we couldn’t eat anymore. We had a campfire in the snow, implementation of IGG’s Strategic Plan I did not expect the and we spent a night pretending to be gold smugglers and week that unfolded. The Academy is an event jointly sneaking through the forest to win a (very complicated!) game organised by the European Committees of WAGGGS and – we didn’t win, but we did have a lot of fun! I made friends WOSM for people who are involved on committees or boards from every corner of Europe, from Iceland to Serbia to in their organisations. It is a jam-packed event with two Greece, and I got to meet some Irish friends from CGI and trainings every day and lots of fun activities in between. too. What I love about Guiding and Scouting events is that you will always have something in common with I had arranged to travel with a member of the Catholic Guides the people you meet; no matter what the training topic you of Ireland and was nicely surprised when I joined the check-in can expect to have fun and to learn as much from each other queue and spotted someone wearing a neckerchief just in as from the facilitators. It is always really interesting to see front of me! Always the best way to find someone! Then, how other people run their meetings and their organisations. when we arrived in Zurich airport we were welcomed by a cheerful group of Scouts (who were also on the lookout for As part of my new job for IGG I co-ordinate a lot of the neckers) who gave us our train tickets and waved us off on international opportunities that come up and I would love to the next leg of our journey. When we arrived in Kandersteg see more people applying to go. There are so many amazing we had a lovely walk through the mountain scenery and all of seminars and events happening across Europe but there are a sudden we turned a corner and saw a beautiful chalet in some that we don’t send anyone at all to! I learned so much front of us, with flags from around the world blowing in the from this event and I hope to use it in both my volunteer and wind. my work roles. It is a great feeling to know that your experience and ideas can lead to a change in the overall Kandersteg International Scout Centre is an ideal location for organisation. I would encourage everyone to apply for any such an event. As the week went on it started to snow and the opportunity that interests you because it is only by sending spectacular scenery of the Swiss Alps just added to the people to these events that we can learn so much more from atmosphere. There were almost 150 participants from over 40 our fellow Guides and Scouts and get new ideas to keep our countries and the differences between Mediterranean and organisation vibrant and relevant. Scandinavian blood could quickly be seen as the snowstorms Jemma Lee got heavier and the southern Europeans huddled closer together!

There was a huge range of trainings to choose from and I ended up learning about topics such as Project Management, Social Rights and Quality Assurance. But not to worry, they’re not all as serious as they sound! I learned about international service projects undertaken by French Rovers, and an amazing youth empowerment programme developed by the Dutch Scouts which allows young members to “intern” on important national level committees. We also talked about the importance of change and of adapting to our members’ needs as they grow and develop and as technology and society around them changes.

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 39 International — Travellers Tales

with each other. We explored different leadership styles and we took part in a scavenger hunt to find out our preferred method of learning. We drew trees which represented each part of ourselves.During the evening activity an artist came in to share her paintings with us and explain the power of expressing yourself through art. We then went to the craft house where we created our own self portraits.

On Tuesday, we were presented with the second theme of the week – The Spirit of Women. We talked about the women who had inspired us along our leadership journies. We visited the “Hall of Fame” which was a showcase of inspirational women from all walks of life from around the world. In patrols, we each chose one woman and presented her life to the rest of the group. We created a rap about Lady Baden Powell’s life. The next two sessions focused on how we viewed women in leadership positions today and what we hoped it would be like for women in the future. In the evening, we visited the JLS Juliette Low Seminar cinema where we watched a documentary called “Half the Sky”.

When I was first selected to attend the Juliette Low Seminar at Our Cabana, I felt a mixture of emotions; excitement, Wednesday brought the theme of The Spirit of Leadership. nervousness, anticipation. The Juliette Low Seminar is a We looked at leadership from the outside in, starting with 2 WAGGGS leadership development programme aiming to guest speakers. The first was a young Mexican woman who strengthen and enhance the leadership skills of the had just finished her international masters in chemical participants. I did not know what awaited me and I never engineering and who was also a Girl Guide. The second was thought I was about to embark on an amazing journey that a woman who runs a mixed early childhood education facility could possibly be one of the best experiences of my life so for children with and without disabilities. The next few far. sessions focused on our own leadership reflections and we helped each other to solve these dilemmas by critically After much preparation, I began that journey on the 9th of analysing them and giving feed back. In the evening, we November 2012. After 2 flights which were 3 hours and 12 explored our own personal skills by visiting workshops hours respectively I arrived in Mexico. I travelled to a hostel provided by the planning team such as leadership games and called Ticalli which is run by the Girl Guides of Mexico and coaching. We ended the night with an international campfire located in the centre of Mexico city. I had arranged to meet which was a little different to an Irish one in the 25 degree some of the other participants before the seminar started and heat so the excitement began! On Sunday morning we did some sight seeing around the city. Afterwards we travelled on a bus to Cuernavaca, a large town about 2 hours outside of Mexico city where Our Cabana is located.

We arrived around 4pm and the staff and volunteers were waiting for us. They showed us to our rooms and gave us a tour of the Cabana and wow, the photos do not do it justice! It is a fabulous mixture of traditional Mexican buildings, gardens, stone pathways and of course a pool – the perfect location for the JLS journey that was about to begin. We were introduced to the planning team who were a mixture of WAGGGS staff and facilitators from around the world.

After an early night we were raring to go! Once the opening ceremony was over, we jumped straight into the first theme of the week – The Spirit of Me. We sketched rivers which represented our leadership journey so far and shared them

Page 40 Trefoil News January 2013 International — Travellers Tales

On Thursday it was the long awaited action day. In our first session we had a presentation from VAMOS, a charity supported by Our Cabana. VAMOS helps communities in Cuernavaca by building schools and feeding 2200 mothers and children a day. It was our job to provide a one hour empowerment session for these mothers in different communities. In small groups we planned our sessions. After lunch, my group went to a small community called Cerro de la Corona. I was really overwhelmed at the way these women opened up to us and shared their stories. Even though these women suffered many hardships in their lives, they put these aside and welcomed us into their community. I think we all felt the afternoon was a success and definitely a highlight of the week. During our evening activity, the locals came into the Cabana to set up a market for us. After we had shopped til we dropped, we had a pool party – Cabana style with music and cocktails.

On Friday, we explored The Spirit of WAGGGS. Nicola Grinstead, Deputy Chair of the World Board, came to spend a few days with us and tell us her leadership story. We found out about the upcoming projects of WAGGGS and we got together in regional groups to showcase WAGGGS in our region. That evening it was time for the highly anticipated international evening. We displayed crafts, food and swaps from our countries and then boarded “the Cabana aircraft” to take a visit to each region. We learned dances from Africa Region and saw the beautiful national dress of Asia Pacific.

On Saturday, our last official day, everyone was beginning to feel sad about the journey home. But we still had one full day to enjoy and we were determined to enjoy every moment. In the morning Joey, the chair of the planning team, shared her very inspirational leadership story with us. I think it’s safe to say we all experienced a few “goosebump” moments as we listend to her story. In the afternoon we developed our action plans – the ideas we wanted to bring back to our member organisation and we were encouraged to dream big. In our final evening, we celebrated Mexican style! We had a Mexican feast for dinner and the local Mariachi band came in to play for us. Then we had a quick change into our uniforms for the closing ceremony. We were presented with our certificates and finished off the evening with a pinãta!

I had a fantastic week at Our Cabana, Words cannot describe how memorable the Juliette Low Seminar has been for me. It has been everything I had hoped for and so much more. I have learned so much about myself and I have made some wonderful friends from all over the world. It has opened my eyes to the world of WAGGGS and the great opportunities that can be found at a global level. I would like to thank IGG for selecting me to represent them. It truly has been an honour.

Jenna Goodwin

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 41 International—Spotlight on World Centres

It’s January and now is a New Year full of New adventures and exciting challenges. Why not visit one of the World Centres? There are four, Our Chalet in Switzerland, Pax Lodge in England, Our Cabãna in Mexico, Sangam in . I’m sure you would agree that this would be a great experience for any Girl Guide and Leader. All year round the four Centres have packages catered for your needs. Check out the WAGGGS website for further details on travelling abroad to one of these wonderful centres. This year IGG is offering a Service Project to Sangam, see page 43 for more details. Don’t forget that even if you can’t travel to one of the centres, you can still become a “friend” through the Four World Centre friend scheme.

Pax Lodge is actually the third World Centre in London. The first – Our Ark – had to close down and move when resident laws changed after World War Two. It became Olave House which lasted until the new building was finished – Pax Lodge was officially opened in 1991.

It's called Pax Lodge in honour of Lord Baden Powell who named his two houses Pax – in England and Paxtu in Kenya. Pax is the Latin for Peace.

Pax Lodge is open all year round and runs lots of different events for Guides – from week long summer trips to weekends away in the winter months. And it's a hostel as well, so you can go and stay there for a few nights and get a taste of the Guiding atmosphere.

Pax Lodge Pax Lodge shares its building with the Word Bureau, where all of the International WAGGGS business is taken care of. “A place where strangers

soon are friends” It was 2011, the centenary was all anyone was talking about. Plans were being made for parties and shows and International Camps. And it was all brilliant. But I wanted my own memory of the 100th birthday of Guiding. I wanted something that I could look back on and say 'Yeah, that's what I did to celebrate'. So – what better memory then to volunteer at a World Centre?

I had never visited a World Centre before, or lived outside of Ireland by myself, but in May I set out for London. Pax Lodge is in Hampstead, a very fancy part of London, and has a back garden and front lawn and a very charming old folks home next-door. The first day I got settled into my new room, tried to learn everybody's names (which took me a few weeks in the end) and got a tour of the building and the surrounding area. Everyone was impossibly welcoming and had lots of advice and stories about Pax to share with me. Another girl arrived the same day as I did, her name was Maria and she was from Pennsylvania, USA, so I got to do all my training with a new friend, which was nice.

I had chosen to be a Resident Volunteer, which I had been warned was hard work, and I soon learned they hadn't been lying. Pax is a busy hostel with Guide groups and guests in and out all the time. There were beds to be made and laundry to be done and dinner wasn't going to cook itself! The work was hard, especially for those of us who didn't normally do housework! But everyone pitched in, you never had to do more then you were able to, and the whole atmosphere of Pax was just so happy and 'can do'.

All in all I got more out of my trip then they got out of me. I learned a lot of new skills – how to cook dinner for sixty people; how to change two beds in under five minutes and how to tell amusing stories about Ireland for almost an hour. But more importantly I came back so inspired for Guiding. Pax Lodge really opened my eyes to the sheer size of WAGGGS as an organisation. I met Guides and Scouts from all over the world. I got to hear the Guide Promise in a dozen different languages, and yet the message behind it stayed the same. Did you know that in Canada Ladybirds are called Sparks? Or that Girl Guides have gone to U.N summits to fight for a greener future? And did you know that for all the countries in WAGGGS and all the differences in languages and traditions and dress, we all have an instant connection with each other – because we are all Girl Guides.

Written by Alison Cahill. Check out the Four World Centres Resources online for more about each of the centres! www.wagggsworld.org/en/world/centres/resources Page 42 Trefoil News January 2013 Friends of the Four World Centres

The Irish Section of the Friends of the Four World Centres is affiliated to the UK ‘Friends’ Group and an AGM is held in Pax Lodge in November. A Gathering takes place every year and is usually held at one of the UK Training Centres but occasionally other venues are chosen. ‘Friends’ Group visits to the World Centres are also arranged from time to time. Join the ‘Friends of the Four World Centres’ and your subscription will help to promote and encourage awareness of the World Centres as well as helping with their preservation, repair and maintenance. Look up the website www.worldcentrefriends.co.uk for more information.

The subscription is €15.00 for individuals and €20.00 for Units per year and this entitles you to a membership card and two newsletters. Badges are only available to ‘Friends’ with current membership. Leaders of Units may purchase badges for each member of the Unit.

Friends of Our Chalet

Our Chalet was opened in July 1932 and celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2012. It is located on a picturesque mountainside in Switzerland about 30 minutes walk from the village of Adelboden. There is a varied programme that includes special events for ‘Friends’. Check out the website www.ourchalet.ch for more details plus links to the other World Centres.

You can help with the development and the day-to-day running expenses of Our Chalet by becoming a ‘Friend’. The subscription is To join – please complete the appropriate €15.00 per year for individuals and Units and this entitles you to an form below and send it to: annual newsletter that is sent out around Thinking Day each year. Jemma Lee Friends of Our Chalet / Four World Centres Irish Girl Guides I/We wish to become a Friend of the 27 Pembroke Park Four World Centres – Irish Girl Guides Dublin 4

Name______

Address ______I/We wish to become a Friend of Our Chalet

______Name______

______Address______

Membership fee for individual €15.00 €______

Membership fee for Unit €20.00 €______Membership fee for individual/Unit €15.00 €______

I/We wish to order the following badges: I/We wish to order the following badges:

Metal badge – number ______@ €5.00 €______Metal badge – number ______@ €6.00 €______

Cloth badge – number ______@ €1.80 €______Cloth badge – number ______@ €1.80 €______

Total €______Total €______

Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope if a receipt Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope if a receipt or badges are required. or badges are required. Cheques should be made payable to: Cheques should be made payable to: Irish Girl Guides – Friends of the Four World Centres. Irish Girl Guides – Friends of Our Chalet.

Signature ______Signature ______

Date ______Date ______

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 43 Friends of Sangam Ireland

IGG has always had a strong connection with with many members visiting Sangam, volunteering there and working there. Sangam is a beautiful place with wonderful people. It has a special spirit and has a unique Guiding feel about it. Friends of Sangam (FOS) Ireland is a group within IGG who support Sangam in India. There are FOS groups in many countries who are members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

FOS Ireland has gathered 3 boxes of resources for Units who wish to have an India night or for groups wishing to raise funds for Sangam. These can travel anywhere in the country! To book them or to make any enquiries, please contact [email protected] or write to Friends of Sangam Ireland c/o National Office.

Each year, FOS Ireland organises India nights, meals in Indian restaurants, programme activities for Units and other fundraising events. All proceeds go direct to Sangam to help them run programmes for Girl Guides from around the world.

If you are interested in going to Sangam as a participant or as a volunteer check out www.sangamworldcentre.org for more details or join Sangam on facebook. They have volunteer programmes from 4 weeks upwards and events are usually 10 days. Also this year, IGG will be running a special Service Project to Sangam in the Summer, so please apply for it.

If you want to talk to someone who has already been, just get in touch with Friends of Sangam. This photo shows Minakshi, Sangam’s Community Relations Manager and Community Volunteer Programme Coordinator. Aptly, she wears a Sangam t-shirt saying “Discover Your Potential” on a beach in Galway during her recent visit to Ireland!

Each year, IGG Leaders, Senior Branch and Units are invited to become members of FOS Ireland. Membership for 2013 will be €15 for an individual or Unit and this is payable by cheque to Friends of Sangam c/o National Office. Membership includes 1 metal pin badge and email updates of news from Sangam. Extra badges can be ordered at a cost of €5 each.

I/We wish to become a Friend of Sangam Ireland

Name______

Please tick your preferred method of communication and provide the appropriate address:

Email ______

Post ______

______

Membership fee for individual €15.00 € ______

Membership fee for Unit €15.00 € ______

I/We wish to order the following extra badges:

Metal badge – number ______@ €5.00 € ______

Total € ______

Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope if a receipt or badges are required. Cheques should be made payable to: Friends of Sangam Ireland.

Signature ______Date ______

Page 44 Trefoil News January 2013 International Opportunities IGG Service Project to Sangam

Irish Girl Guides International & Executive Committees are delighted to announce a Service Project to India in July 2013. This is open to IGG members from 16 to 99 years of age

Sangam our World Centre in India will be our base and they have links with a number of Community Projects who would give us the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate.

The Service Project will be for a two week duration with 10 participants and 2 group leaders. Cost per person will be €2,000 covering the flights, insurance, full board, inoculations and costs related to the Service Project, plus the opportunity to experience Indian Culture and a WAGGGS World Centre.

For more information please contact Theresa McCarthy, International Commissioner by emailing [email protected]

Application Forms will be sent out to interested parties. Please alert us of your interest before the 31st January.

As we anticipate a large number of applications a selection will be held in February 2013 for participants and group leaders. Group leaders will be eligible for a subsidy. 2013 International Postcard Exchange

This exchange allows Leaders and Packs/Units from around the world to exchange postcards with each other prior to Thinking Day 2013.

This project was designed to help Scouts and Guides around the world learn about their brothers and sisters in Scouting and Guiding. In this project you will exchange postcards with other Units to learn more about them and what they do. The Exchange is open and continuing now until February 2013! To get your Units on the list of participants, please visit www.mythinkingday.com where you can sign up for the exchange and read all about it.

Postbox penpals

If you would like something more permanent than the Postcard Exchange then get in touch with [email protected] We anticipate even more requests than normal this year as we’re one of the World Thinking Day focus countries and lots of Units around the globe will want to talk to Irish girls. We receive dozens of requests from around the world for pen pals (both snail mail and email), Skype meetings, and badge or craft exchanges and would love to be able to match them all. Ladybirds and Brownies can link as a Unit while Guides and Senior Branch can opt to correspond as individuals with their Leader’s permission. Leaders and Trefoil Guild members are also welcome!

Trefoil News January 2013 Page 45 International

WHAT CAN YOU AND YOUR UNIT DO TO HELP? No-one can protect the Arctic alone. WAGGGS need millions of people from across the world to stand with them

To start with — you can Sign up Everyone who signs up to the campaign will come to the Arctic! By this we mean that Greenpeace will take a scroll with everyone’s names to the North Pole in an indestructible capsule. They will cut through the ice and lower this capsule through 4km of freezing water to the seabed, and will attach a special flag to mark the spot. There, beneath the pole, everyone’s names will be planted, where they will stay until 2050 in a collective statement for Arctic protection. You can sign up at www.savethearctic.org

Design a flag Along with the scroll, there will be a flag planted on the seabed. But this won’t be any ordinary flag — and this is where you and your Unit can really help.

Instead of a flag for one country or one group of people - this flag will symbolize international cooperation and stand for everyone everywhere!

The flag must stand for:

♦ Peace ♦ Global community ♦ Hope

This is your chance to design a flag that will send that message of peace, hope and global community to the world. Are you up to the challenge? Let your imagination and creativity shine!

So if you are between 6 and 26 years old—you’re eligible to enter. Visit www.flagforthefuture.org for more details. The competition opened on 26 November 2012 and entries must be submitted by 11 February 2013. Short-listed designs will be evaluated by a judging panel including globally renowned fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. This panel will select the overall winner.

Whether a young person wins the flag design competition, or simply signs up to the scroll, they will always know when they look north that their name is planted at the top of the world as a mark of our collective commitment to save the Arctic.

Page 46 Trefoil News January 2013 Happy New Year to all our members ! The last event of the 2012 year was the annual outing to IGG’s fully booked out special performance of Cinderella. It was a great day and many thanks to Pamela Galloway for once again organising this special day.

REMEMBER AS WE START THE NEW YEAR — TREFOIL NEWS IS YOUR MAGAZINE! YOUR STORIES! YOUR PICTURES! YOUR VOICE! Thank you for all the photographs we’ve received this past year and we’re looking forward to all the photographs we’ll receive over the new year. Email [email protected] Trefoil News Januarywith 2013 all your pictures and stories! Page 47 IRISH GIRL GUIDES Bantreoraithe na hÉireann

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