Gambia, The

Promise:

Girl Guide Promise

I promise on my honour that I will do my best:
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people at all times, and
To obey the Guide Law.

Brownie Promise

I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my country;
To help other people every day, especially those at home.

Law:

Girl Guide Law

1 A Guide’s honour is to be trusted.

2 A Guide is loyal.

3 A Guide’s duty is to be useful and to help others.

4 A Guide is a friend to all and a sister to every other Guide.

5 A Guide is courteous.

6 A Guide is a friend to animals.

7 A Guide obeys orders.

8 A Guide smiles and sings under all difficulties.

9 A Guide is thrifty.

10 A Guide is pure in thought, word and deed.

Brownie Guide Law

A Brownie gives in to the older folk.
A Brownie does not give in to herself.

Motto:

Girl Guide Motto - Be Prepared

Brownie Motto - Lend a Hand

Age groups:

Ranger 18-21

Guide 12-18

Brownie 7-11

Rose bud 4-6

Development of the movement:

Guiding in the Gambia started in 1923. Wives of British civil servants in the Gambia together with interested Gambian women kept the Movement on its feet at the time. Packs, companies and units were operational within the urban area and Guiding continued to function until 1943 when it became dormant due to lack of adult Leaders.

In 1946, however, it was revived by the first Gambian Chief Guide Commissioner, Mrs Rosamond Fowlls, who after her studies in the United Kingdom came home full of zeal and enthusiasm and put Gambia on the map of Guiding.

During this period Guiding was established in various parts of the country and the number of companies and packs continued to increase.

Guiding is now found in every accessible area of the country and has reached all sections of communities regardless of religion and ethnic origin. Many packs, companies and units are school based, due to the fact that the majority of adult Leaders are teachers and have the ability to devote much of their leisure time to the growth and development of children, preparing them for the demands and challenges of society in a rapidly changing world

Programme:

The programme of activities for the various levels of Guiding are based on the eight-point programme which is embodied in the threefold Promise and the Guide Law as laid down by the founder. The handbooks for the various levels have been adapted to suit Gambian culture while maintaining the basic and fundamental principles of Guiding. The Association runs recruitment drives to attract potential adult Leaders to meet the demands of the girls interested in becoming members of the Movement.

Relationship to society:

The Gambia Girl Guides Association is greatly concerned with the development of the community and therefore participates in all developmental programmes and activities organized at community or national level. The Association itself sponsors or organizes community development programmes as its vital contribution to national development efforts.

Apart from the usual Guide activities in which every Guide is mandated to participate – such as rendering services at hospitals and health centres, cleaning public places such as mosques, churches, post offices, supermarkets, local markets, homes of disabled and elderly people, etc. – the Association is engaged in a variety of projects at national level.

At headquarters level, the Association has established a skills training centre for girls and young women on income-generating skills for self-reliance. This training centre was established in 1988 with a view to training non-literates and semi-literates in functional numeracy and literacy as well as cookery and hotel/restaurant management, tailoring, handicraft, tie-dye and batik, etc. for self-employment.

Presently the demands of the community have become such that the Association has been urged also to provide secretarial courses for secondary school leavers. These include typing and computer courses. The current enrolment rate is 150 students annually with a view to expansion when adequate facilities are available. The staff have now increased to eight.

The Building of World Citizenship theme also involved the Association in community development projects. The Association worked on four themes: Education, Environment, Health and Peace.

On Environment, the Association is engaged in cleansing exercises country-wide. It also collaborates from time to time with national environment agencies on national cleansing campaigns. The Association takes part in the growing of trees in the bid to campaign against desertification each year. The Association plans to grow ‘trees for food’ for sustaining funds for ongoing projects sponsored by the Association.

On Health, the Association organized workshops and seminars on health-related issues that affect girls and young women such as early marriage, teenage pregnancy, prostitution, sex abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, baby dumping, female genital mutilation, etc. These workshops will come up with recommendations for the Government to assist in minimizing these problems.

On the Peace initiative, the GGGA’s programme of activity is a symposium and house-to-house campaign on causes of conflicts and conflict resolution.

HIV/AIDS campaign

With the support of Girlguiding UK, the Association has embarked on a massive sensitisation campaign with a view to heighten the awareness in girls and young women to HIV/AIDS and its prevention. The threat of HIV/AIDS in the sub-Saharan regions and Gambia, is particularly strong. The aim of the project is to: train facilitators; identify and train peer-health educators for each of the regions; provide financial and material support for facilitators; include girls and young women of all ages, in or out of school, local women in their Kaffos and sex-workers in the project; organise panel discussions, debates, quizzes, and drama competitions in all regions to highlight the problem. The Association is also conducting house-house campaigns using peer educators with the ‘each one teach one’ method and helping to develop income generating skills for sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS so they can live independent lives.

The Association is aware of the need for young people to be involved in ALL stages of this project especially decision making. The project is aimed at educating both men and women, female and male children.

Communication and Co-operation

The Association encourages members to participate in national functions such as the wreath-laying ceremony on Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) and Independence Day (National Day). World Thinking Day is another occasion when the national and international profile of Guiding is heightened through various activities and ceremonies country-wide. The Association promotes exchange visits at district and regional level and encourages international exchange visits within the sub-region.

The Gambia co-operates with other Girl Guide and Girl Scout organizations through the WAGGGS Mutual Aid Scheme, which has, in the past, provided funds towards the Association’s skills training centre at Kanifing and one established in Brikama.

The GGGA is a member of the National Youth Council. It co-operates with the State Department of Education and the State Department of Youth, Sports and Culture, and has close relationships with the State Department of Tourism as well as the Vice President’s Office. It is an associate member of TANGO and has cordial relationships with many other national NGOs including the Boy Scouts Movement, the Red Cross, the Boys’ Brigade, the Gambia Family Planning Association, the President’s Award Scheme, the Anglican Mission, etc.

The Association actively participates in all national activities that involve women regardless of what part of the country the programme is organized. Plans are on the way to establish a National Association of Women NGOs of which the Girl Guides would be a founder member. Its prime objective would be to support women’s organizations within the country

Training:

The Association has a training committee directly responsible for training at all levels, from adult Leaders to Patrol Leaders. Several training sessions are held annually. A full-time co-ordinator was appointed for one academic year to assist District and Regional Commissioners to work more effectively country-wide, particularly in terms of visits to schools within their districts and regions.

Several weekend and holiday camps are organized annually. Training of all forms is carried out during the camps and for all categories of girls and adults