Free Being Me Festival in India

“Loving yourself is a wonderful thing. Learning to love yourself, together with a group of friends, is a life-changing experience. I count myself fortunate to join 200 members of the worldwide Guiding family at the ‘Free Being Me’ Festival in India (DATE?). It was my first trip to Sangam and to India, so I didn’t have any idea what to expect. On arrival, I was overwhelmed by the friendliness and hospitality of the staff. The attendees were very supportive and encouraging as we celebrated and spread the word about the importance of body confidence and self-esteem. The Festival programme gave us with a unique platform to share ‘Free Being Me’ with children from a local school. The children, aged between 6 and 10, were very welcoming. Communicating with them was easy, even though we all spoke English with different accents. One incident that left a very deep impression on me happened during the ‘Changing the Media’ activity, which required the children to brainstorm ideas for using the media to promote body confidence. A group of children – without much prompting – drew a poster that included writings in Hindi and Marathi. I felt very motivated on seeing that the children not only understood the ‘Free Being Me’ messages, but that they were a powerful channel to reach out and make a difference in their communities. The Festival was one-of-a-kind-experience. It not only reminded me to love myself for who I am, it also showed me the importance and joy of sharing this important message with others. I will treasure this experience and the memories!”

FBM @ World Scout Jamboree 2015

“I felt very privileged to represent Girl Guides Singapore at the World Scout Jamboree 2015 in Yamaguchi, Japan. With 34,000 global participants, the event offered so many opportunities to promote the FBM programme to the Scouting world. Prior to Jamboree, I had only conducted FBM workshops for girls in my Unit. The boys and girls participated eagerly as we facilitated the workshops on body confidence and self-esteem; we could see the positive impact this would have in their lives. It was such a memorable learning experience for me, personally and professionally. I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life!” Mufeedah Bte Senin Guider – Changkat Changi Secondary School & FBM Volunteer Trainer

Juliette Low Seminar 2015

Ms Wendy Rong, an International Committee member, joined 50 other Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 46 different countries at the Juliette Low Seminar (JLS) 2015 at Sangam, India. Themed “Dream. Dare. Do.”, the seminar offered many unique challenges to stretch the attendees. The two-day “Dare” themed activities were the most exciting and adventure-filled. The girls were grouped in threes to explore the area without a local guide. They were armed only with a map, some pictures and addresses of places, and some tips on rickshaw transportation and foods to avoid. The girls navigated successfully around train stations, parks, farms and temples. On another day, attendees were asked to choose an activity from a list of 39 options, including abseiling from a water tower, holding a snake and public speaking, amongst others. This challenged them to try out something new and to overcome their fears. Some participants took on multiple activities; for example, a Girl Scout from Taiwan decided to take a local bus to a neighbouring area, in addition to keeping silent for half a day! To open their eyes to new perspectives, Dr Neela Onawale – founder of Deep Griha Society, which is a Girl Guides India community partner – shared about the challenges faced by women in India. The attendees were deeply inspired to hear about how she and her husband pursued relentlessly their dream to start a small clinic in the slumps and grow this into a large organisation serving the needs of women and children. Wendy concluded, “This Sangam experience has to be one of the most memorable moments in my life. I now understand better what international Girl Guiding is and highly recommend Sangam to others seeking to experience both India and a different Guiding experience. I hope for the chance to visit other World Centres and to meeting more friends from all around the world!”

Service Learning to Girl Guides Cambodia

Growing up reading Harry Potter, I found it fascinating that one of the Weasley family’s daily household chores was feeding chickens – something unfamiliar to us living in urban Singapore. Spending five days in the village of Takeo showed me a whole new world. It was refreshing to engage with children whose faces aren’t hidden behind screens – which is quite typical in Singapore. They were friendly and sociable, even with ‘strangers’ like us. When participating in the craft and game activities or sampling our Singapore snacks, we could sense the children’s joy, excitement and gratitude. This warmed our hearts immensely. Simple things lifted their mood. They didn’t seem to own very much, but they were constantly happy. It made us realise that affluence and technology can impact our lives, in both good and not-so-good ways. Having plenty makes us take things for granted. We forget to appreciate the things and people around us. For example, after agonising over the lack of Internet connectivity, we saw that it really wasn’t a necessity. Just like the urge to constantly check our phones, these habits keep us from meaningfully engaging with people and ourselves. By ‘disconnecting’, we found ourselves venturing to try new things – like joining mini-expeditions to explore our surroundings! By the fifth day, I was in love with life in the village. I hope to visit Takeo again. Who knows, I may even retire there one day! Ang Yip Zao, Young Adult

Office Closure for Staff Retreat on 27 June 2018

Please be advised that the Admin office, Guide Shop and Camp Christine will be closed on Wednesday, 27 June 2018 for our annual Staff Retreat.

We will be back on Thursday, 28 June 2018 to serve you!