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 Girl Guides, Trefoil House, 27 Pembroke Park, Dublin 4. Printed by: Richardson and Watts, 36 Thornville Park, Raheny, 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. Brownies 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 Pax Lodge, 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, Ireland 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 Republic of Ireland 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 Scout 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.