Kenya

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, and
To keep the Brownie Law.

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 polite and considerate.

6 A Guide preserves and loves nature.

7 A Guide is obedient and has respect for others.

8 A Guide is courageous and is cheerful under all circumstances.

9 A Guide is careful and avoids wastefulness.

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

Brownie Law

A Brownie is truthful, obedient and cheerful.
A Brownie thinks of others before herself

Motto:

Girl Guide Motto - Be Prepared

Brownie Motto - Lend a Hand

Age groups:

Ranger Cadet 18-25

Ranger Guide 14-18

Guide 10 -14

Brownie 7-11

Development of the movement:

Guiding began in Kenya in 1920, when the first Guide company held its meeting in the grounds of Government House in Nairobi. A Brownie pack was started in the same year in a primary school, and in 1923 a Cadet company was opened in Nairobi. In 1922 the Association was registered as a Branch Association of the Girl Guides Association (UK).

During the early years, Guiding was confined to schools attended only by European girls, but in 1935 the first Indian Guide company and Brownie pack were opened in Nairobi. The following year saw the introduction of the first Guide company for African girls. Guiding spread rapidly, except during the Second World War, and in 1943 the first rally for African Guides was held. In 1949 the fairy lore imagery used in Brownie activities was replaced by bird lore, which had more relevance to the Kenyan girl.

In 1963, the Guide House was officially opened for training by Lady Baden Powell. Kenya also became a Tenderfoot Member of WAGGGS. In 1972, the Kenya Girl Guides Association celebrated its Golden Jubilee with an International Camp.

Kenya Girl Guides Association attained full membership of WAGGGS in 1975 when the Africa Region Committee was also established.

Lady Olave Baden Powell died in 1977, and a memorial service was held at All Saints Cathedral, with her ashes being buried in Nyeri.

In 1985, Kenya celebrated the 75th World Guiding Anniversary. National ceremonies were held and special 75th Anniversary Stamps were issued by the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation.

The 26th WAGGGS World Conference was held at Egerton University College, Njoro in 1987, and this was the first World Conference ever held on African soil. In 1991, the Kenya Girl Guides Association hosted the Euro-Africa Seminar.

In 1992, the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Kenya Girl Guides Association was graced by the presence of Lady Patience Baden Powell, for the official opening of the Transitional Workshop for Disabled Girls in Mombasa.

In 1997, the Association celebrated 75 years of Guiding and the renovation of its Headquarters:

– 75th Anniversary Stamps issued by Kenya Posts and Telecommunications.

– A visit to Kenya by Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark

– Task-force assessment of the 5th WAGGGS World Centre.

– Hosting of the Africa Region Training for Trainers and the evaluation workshop of WAGGGS Youth Service Team.

– International camp on ‘Water is Life’.

In 1998, the Renovated Headquarters were officially opened by His Excellency Hon. Daniel Arap Moi, President of the Republic of Kenya. This year also saw the launching of the Trefoil Guild and members of the Association joining the Olave Baden Powell Society.

Programme:

Kenya’s programme is based on the Promise and Law, and has five distinct yet correlated sections for Brownies, Guides, Ranger Guides, Ranger Cadets and Adult Leaders. Each section provides a wide range of challenges that encompass all modes of life relevant to the particular age group.

All four branches of the Movement have extension units for girls with special needs. Most of these units are attached to schools, and girls with special needs are integrated into other units if possible.

Relationship to society:

Members from all branches of the Association undertake community service. Many new projects have been set up recently and many existing projects have been continued and developed:

Health and nutrition

• Kibera Girls Centre - a programme for the marginalized girls in the slums in Nairobi

• The Hawkers Market Action Group. This is an existing project where the marginalized girls from the slums assist their mothers in selling fruits and vegetables in the market in Nairobi. The Hawker’s Market Girl Guides was awarded the WAGGGS/FAO Medal for outstanding achievements.

• The Transitional Workshop for disabled girls in Shanzu, Mombassa. This provides vocational training for girls over 18 years of age with special needs. This Workshop was awarded the Nutritional Medal in Food and Nutrition Education and Improvement by FAO/WAGGGS for outstanding achievements.

• Programme of ‘Solar Cookers’. This is to discourage desertification.

• Nutrition Education Programme using the child-to-child approach. This project aims to encourage the Girl Guides in their units and at home to grow and eat nutritious fruits and vegetables which are available locally and within their means.

Three of these projects have been awarded the FAO/WAGGGS Nutrition Award for their outstanding achievement in Nutrition Education Programmes.

Peace Education and Child Rights

This programme has been integrated into the Association’s regular Guiding programme at all levels from Rainbows to Young Leaders, and extended as far as the Girl Guides in the Refugee camp at Kakuma in North Western Kenya. The bill on the Rights of the Child was enacted in the Kenyan Parliament and the Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) was in the forefront in the development and final process of this Act. This bill became law on 1st March 2002. In recognition of the Kenya Girl Guides Association’s involvement with the Child’s Rights bill, the National Chairman, Mrs Honorine Kiplagat, was included in the official government delegation, led by the Vice President of Kenya to attend the United National General Assembly Special Session on Children in New York in May 2002.

HIV/AIDS Prevention Peer Education Programme

This is a programme that aims at changing the behaviour and attitudes of girls and young women to HIV/AIDS, leading to a reduction in the spread of the HIV virus. The targeted community areas are Busia, Mumias/Butere, Kakamega, Bungoma in the Western Province, Changamwe and Kisauni in the Coast Province; Nakuru municipality and Nakuru district in the Rift Valley. The programme is funded by USAID through Family Health International.

200 schools are in the pilot programme and over 100 Guide leaders have been trained as Peer Education Co-ordinators. The Ford Foundation in Nairobi has enabled Kenya Girl Guides Association to replicate the Peer Education Programme to an additional twenty schools in Nairobi and the Thika District. KGGA would like to replicate this success to all the units in schools countrywide – if the funds are available.

By March 31st 2001, 20,000 Peer Educators had been trained.

• A Training of Trainers Manual for Guide Leaders has been developed based on Participatory Peer Education for HIV and AIDS Prevention.

• A badge for HIV/AIDS awareness as been developed for all stages of the Girl Guides Programme.

• Talking points/Reference notes for the Peer Educators based on the manual have been produced to facilitate Peer Education among the Girl Guides and other girls in and out of school.

Recognised in Kenya as a key player in the fight against HIV/AIDS, KGGA was given the opportunity to present a skit depicting the impact of their Peer Education Programme. This was performed on the occasion of the official visit to Kenya of the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, as HIV/AIDS was among the issues on his agenda during his visit in May 2001. KGGA was the only youth organization taking part.

This same demonstration was performed at the 13th World AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa in July 2000 and also at the Barcelona Conference in July 2002.

Communication and Co-operation

The Kenya Girl Guides Association has welcomed Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from around the world, and its members attend camps and seminars abroad.

The Kenya Girl Guides Association enjoys collaboration with GOLD, a project of the Guide Association (UK) and East Kent Guides of UK who have come annually to support activities since 1992.

The Association is well known by other charitable organizations and the public for its service, and often publicizes its training and activities on television and local radio, as well as using the print media.

The Association publishes a periodical, The Kenya Guide Magazine, which is distributed outside the membership. It also produces newsletters to provide a means of communication between headquarters and rural members.

The Association co-operates with UNEP, and works with other women’s organizations with similar aims. It is a member of the Kenya Association of Youth Councils and takes part, with other youth organizations, in projects such as tree planting, organized by the Department of Social Services, Harambee Youth Week and Universal Children’s Day. The Kenya Girl Guides Association and Kenya Scouts Association co-operate in various grassroot projects, such as the immunization campaign.

KGGA were invited to participate at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2000. UNICEF sponsored the participation of two young delegates and their chaperones, and the delegates were given the opportunity to speak at this meeting.

Training:

The Kenya Girl Guides Training Scheme was accredited by WAGGGS in 1994. A Guide Leaders Training Programme has been developed. The training teams, established in 1987, still function. A national annual trainers’ workshop is held each year at the end of November, to plan training activities for the whole country.

There are four trainers seconded to the Association by the Teachers’ Service Commission, to back up the work of volunteers in addition to carrying out normal administrative duties. The Kenya Girl Guides Training Scheme is constantly revised to keep up to date with changes, for instance specialized training offered in life skills mentioned earlier and the use of Sara Initiative materials from UNICEF, Child-to-Child approach, gender rights approach, gender rights of the girl child, and the use of solar cookers, among others.

Outdoor and Environmental Activities

National camps, which also cater for girls with special needs, are held regularly in Kenya, which has also marked important occasions, such as the Centenary of the Birth of the World Chief Guide, with international camps.

The Association has a campsite at its headquarters in Nairobi, at Shanzu-Mombasa, Kimalel in Baringo, Chepkorio in Keiyo, Nyeri and Athi River. An annual cup camp competition is held for the best patrol.

Guides also enjoy such activities as mountaineering, canoeing and expeditions, through participation in the President’s Award Scheme.

Camping has become a favourite Guide activity in Kenya, with high demand for qualified personnel. The following camps are run: training camps; service camps; test camps; leisure camps; celebration camps.

A number of conservation activities are conducted, such as planting tree seedlings to cover the ground and prevent soil erosion, which is done at unit level. The Association participated in a campaign ‘A million trees for the new Millennium’. Also, clean-up and anti-litter campaigns are conducted. The Association takes part in clean up-campaigns with other youth organizations, in conjunction with UNEP and Nairobi City Council.

Projects

• Kenya Girl Guides Launches Huru Pads
• Reproductive Health Training
• Hiv and Aids Peer Education Programme
• 218 Kericho camp site
• Kimalel Girl Guide Camp Site
• Hawkers Market Girls Centre
• Graduate Internship Programme
• Saka Goat Keeping Project
• Gucha Girls Centre
• Shanzu Transitional Workshop
• Kibera Girls Centre
• BPAC Kenya
• IMPACT