Childcare badge

I decided to try a new strategy for badges.   It seems like all the Guides have a younger brother or sister or cousin or neighbour that they regularly look after.   I gave them each a letter to give to the mother of the child outlining the badge requirements with a place to sign if they are capable.   This puts the responsibility on to the girls themselves to get the tester and do the badge.

At Guides on Friday we went through suitable food, toys, routine and safety.   Then we talked about suitable clothes for the different seasons and made paper dolls.   

 

Well, let’s see how the girls do.

Camp!

For most Guides, camping is the highlight of their Guide career.   I had organised with Mandy, who runs the first Waverley Co, that we would have a district camp. She would be the QM and I would run the camp.   I have a colleague who runs the emergency care team at our school (and she also was one of my Guides when I was still with the 3rd Randburg Company) and she agreed to be the first aider then my son,  Chris would help us with security.
My prayer for the camp was that we would have nice weather and that the Guides from such diametrically opposed backgrounds would get on well together.   Rain was forecast for the weekend.
In the end, only 4 of my Guides turned up.   When the crunch came, the parents of the other 3 couldn’t come up with the money.   I had known that the sisters probably wouldn’t be able to make it but I expected 5.   My Guides came very late (predictably) but the 1st Waverley had enough so we could at least put up the tents.
It did rain on Friday night but not enough to flood the tents.   One patrol, however,was inundated by Parktown Prawns and had to be evacuated to the hall in the middle of the night.

On Saturday the girls learned first aid aimed at the first aid badge.



Our supper was planned to be cooking in patrols over open fires.   Although we had had no rain during the day it looked very threatening by about 5pm.   The girls did manage to make some great fires though.




The rain did come, however, and only one patrol managed to get their chicken casserole in foil cooked.   Along with the rain came lightening and we soon relocated the girls into the hall and the foil parcels into the oven.    By the time we had finished our indoor campfire, the lightning had receded and the rain had lessened so we were able to sleep in our tents (except for the Parktown Prawn patrol who were very skittish)
Sunday was badge testing and packing up on a beautiful hot sunny day.


The girls learned a lot.   They learned table etiquette (don’t walk on the table), working together to do duties,   campfire traditions,   How to Manya for lost property, first aid, of course, and in addition they made lots of new friends.






We all left exhausted with the Guiders vowing not to do another camp for at least a year but the Guides wanting to know when the next one would be.

Raining on Guide Sunday

Because the transport is so iffy as far as timing goes, we decided to get to the Waverley Guide Hall early so as to be quite sure that the girls would get there in time for Guide Sunday.   The plan was to all bring a picnic lunch.
So Sunday dawned very rainy and miserable.   Two girls  phoned or left messages to find out if Guide Sunday was still on.   In general it is very difficult to get hold of people in Alex.  A lot of them have cell phones but don’t have airtime or don’t keep them on most of the time so I decided we would just go with the plan and bring a gazebo and groundsheet.
So we had a picnic in the rain.  The girls didn’t mind.   They even went out walking in the rain .


Guide Sunday was a combination of inspiration and celebration.   Waverley Guide Hall was 50 years old.
The colour party acquitted themselves adequately and the girls enjoyed the ceremony.






The best was probably the tea and birthday cake and other eats afterwards.   My Guides have a very positive attitude to Guide Sunday and enjoyed meeting some of the 1st Waverley Guides with whom they would be camping .

Masidlale Games

 

Every year our region organises the Masidlale Games.   It is a series of team games involving water, and each district organises a different activity as well as something for a stall.   Our district, Wilds, organised the cup and saucer game.  This involves teams of 5 lining up between two buckets, one full and one empty.   The girl in front fills a cup with water from the first bucket and places it on the saucer.   Holding only the saucer she passes it over her head to the girl next in line and so the cup of water travels along the line to the last girl who then empties the water into the 2nd bucket.   At the end of 5 minutes the team with the most water in their bucket  gets 3 points, second most, 2 points and third most 1 point.   All the games are scored in a similar way.

Well, our girls had been looking forward to it all term.   I had told them that the first five to bring their R10 for the entry fee would be in our team.   The others would come along and they could enjoy themselves at the various stalls and if we found another company with not enough Guides to make an extra team, they could join up.

We had 100% attendance.   The girls had a wonderful time.   First there was the jumping castle with a slide into a pool of water with plastic balls.

Samkelisiwe and Thumi were the two left out of the team but they made their own arrangements and managed to find a group of three to join for the games.

Our team, the Girls of Hope, tied in second place out of about 24 teams and we have a silver certificate to show for it.

 

A great day out although the Guiders were exhausted and hot and sun burned. (Only my lips and feet).   Next year I plan to take a gazebo.

Folk dancer badge

 

Things are looking up a little.   Rays of Hope said they’d pay our membership if we would just provide them with an invoice and banking details.    This is an answer to prayer and reinforces that I am doing what the Lord wants me to.

This term we have been working on the Folk dancer badge.   It is very easy.   The girls have to take part in 4 traditional folk or ethnic dances.   They must be able to dance in any position in the set and the words and tune must be an integral part of the performance.

To make it more interesting I asked whether they would like to make some costumes.   they wouldn’t be the real thing, of course but it would enable them to learn to use a sewing machine which is part of the Explorer’s challenge.

Well, I was too ambitious.  It is true that they all now have little mini skirts but only three of them can actually use a machine.   I got donated two sewing machines from school.   One is hand operated and after the Guides used them it doesn’t work anymore.   I ended up sewing the last bits myself.  

I was not that happy with the fringed overskirt so we tried again last Friday using plastic bags and straws.   The practice went reasonably.

A Ray of Hope

I was seriously considering closing the Guide Company.   I did pray about it though and it occurred to me to wonder what would happen if missionaries called to another country gave up when things got difficult, when they got despondent, when it seemed that their work seemed to be in vain and was making no difference.

At the end of July our district had a bring and buy morning.   I decided not to overtax the transport system but rather take 3 Guides in my car to help sell what we had made.   The previous day the Guides had made racing cars out of boudoir biscuts, marshmallow baskets and modderkoekies.   (a mix of marie biscuits, melted marg, icing sugar and cocoa)   This enabled them to pass a clause in the discovers badge.

I met up with Jeanette and Blessing at the college on Saturday.   There was no sign of Samkelisiwe and it later turned out that she was sick that day.

The girls were great.   They manned our little stall responsibly and cheerfully.   I bought them each a breakfast roll and later gave them R5 each to spend.   The lady manning the stall next to me, Martine, suggested that they go and play the game outside which seemed like a bob for apples then find sweets in flour with your mouth.

Their delight just cheered me up so much.

Later Martine said she would try to get us sponsorship from the school she is involved with.   She also gave the girls some more money to spend.   They had the most amazing day.   Everybody was so kind to us and accepted us so well.   The girls interacted with some of the other Guides and at least for Jeanette and Blessing, it was a day to remember.   The day brought a ray of hope to my despondency.

Despondency

I have been feeling very despondent about Guides recently.   It started last term when I had to go away for a weekend on school business.   I organised for my assistant, Khosi, to take the meeting.   We had mentioned it to the driver the week before when we went to visit the old age home and I sent an email to Bertha on the Thursday before.   Unbeknown to either of us, Bertha was off work on the Thursday.   I was in Pretoria and got an SMS from Khosi at 4.15 saying the driver had not picked her up and she was still waiting.   So the Guides arrived and there was no one to supervise them.   Apparently they played games together.
To be quite honest, the previous week visit to the old age home was quite successful.   The Guides made their own way there except for the Ikhya Lomusa girls and me.   We were taken by the Rays of Hope transport.   We met a lady, Nicole, who used to be a drug addict and she chatted to the girls about her addiction and warned them of the dangers of drugs.   This fitted in well with the drug play we had done earlier in the term.

The week after the no show we had planned to be patrol dinners.   4 girls were supposed to do their cook’s badge.   Khosi would have finalised arrangements the previous week if she had been there but I had to send as many SMS’s as I could to say that we would first visit the Flamingoes and then the Blue Cranes.   Well, we went to the Flamingoes and shared a tiny piece of boiled boerewors with lots of rice and a soup-gravy.  
The trip through Alexandra to try to find the Blue Cranes was a nightmare.   Tents had mushroomed in the middle of several streets making them impassable.   Apparently this is what people do for funerals.   We did find 20th street but we couldn’t find number 61.   The numbers started at 65.   We went around the same big circle 3 times.   We went back to the Flamingo meeting place, supposing the girls would know where Samkelisiwe’s house was.   By the time we got back there, the girls had gone already.   I phoned one of the drivers who knew where our destination was but couldn’t talk us through how to get there.   I thought of a patrol of girls waiting for us and hoped that they actually ate the supper before the transport came to collect them.   Eventually we had to give up and abandon the Blue Cranes.   I felt awful.   I felt I was unable to keep the first Guide Law.   I had said I would be there and I wasn’t.  
The last week of the term clashed with the party organised by Rays of Hope but I needed to see the girls and apologise so we all attended the party.    I organised for a day outing during the holidays to make it up to the Guides.   Although the Guides enjoyed it, I felt quite despondent because it seems they had learned nothing.   One patrol couldn’t make a woodpile and even though I give them step by step instructions they didn’t seem to understand me.   The other patrol couldn’t remember how to lay a fire.   I got the girls who had done the cook’s badge to follow a recipe, because they hadn’t done that at their dinner.   What was meant to be stuffed eggs turned out to be egg mayonnaise.  
Chris and Kathleen had come along to help with a wide game that involved stalking.   The girls just couldn’t cope.   Halfway through I got a message from Chris saying did we have an ice pack, one of the girls seemed to have sprained her ankle.   So Khosi went to look in the kitchen and we discussed indemnity forms.   I told Chris and Kathleen to lead the girls straight back to base.  
Well, it turned out that they were only pretending.   I guess we reacted how adults always react when they have been worried about children and realize they have just been playing a game.
The worst came, however, when the transport came to collect the girls.   Khosi had come straight from Sowetho with her daughter, Faith, but were planning to go home to Alex with the rest of the girls.   The driver said there wasn’t space for them.   In actual fact there was – it was just a matter of moving some plastic bags off seats.   Hovever Khosi said she was leaving the company and taking her daughter with her.
The following Wednesday, when I went to the Guide shop, we discussed it again.   We came to a compromise that if a certain driver was on duty, I would take them  back to the garage where I picked them up.That leaves 3
Since then, my commissioner told me our company owes R1 200 for membership fees and Khosi and I R360 each.   Well, that was the end for Khosi and I have now lost an assistant.   It seemed to me that the best thing to do would be to close the company.   I am not sure how much difference I am making after all.   Perhaps for Jeanette Guides has made a difference.   Of the original 6 who  were all technically orphans, 2 have left and a third only comes about once a term.  That leaves three.   The rest are friends who have come along.   They are supposed to pay R5 a week but they hardly ever do.   I have ended up funding the company basically myself.  If Guides closed it wouldn’t make all that difference to them

Drug Awareness

One of the clauses in the Discoverers Challenge is to present the dangers and consequences of drugs in an interesting way.  I had given it as a challenge to the older girls a couple of weeks ago while I took the new batch for the Trefoil Challenge.   I said they could do a rap, a song, a poster or a play.   Well, not much was done and I got a couple of sentences from one girl which lasted maybe 20 seconds.   I said this wasn’t good  enough and I wouldn’t pass it.

I asked a friend of the family who has done Drama to compose a play for me for 10 or so girls whose home language is not English and we spent last week’s meeting casting, reading through the play, practicing and finally recording the play, “Dear Departed Dora”

 

I think the girls enjoyed it.   I hope it stays with them.   I am pasting the script for those who might be interested.

Dear Departed Dora

By Kathleen van Niekerk

A play about the dangers and consequences of drugs

Characters:

Dora-Good girl who takes drugs.

Dora's mom.

Good friends:

Tumi

Jessica

Lydia

Bad friends:

Thandeka

Caitlyn

Busi

Monica

Some brothers and sisters if there are more than 10

Setting: A funeral

All the people around are sad, except the “bad friends”. Dora is on the floor covered with a blanket.

Tumi: We told her not to take it.

Jessica: Why didn’t she listen to us.

Lydia: May your soul rest in peace Dora.

Michelle: We will miss you.

Dora's mom: Why didn’t she talk to me? Why didn’t she tell me how stressed she was?

Thandeka: Ag shame, she didn’t know how to take it.

Caitlyn: Guess she couldn’t handle it. What a waste of perfectly good nyaope.

Busi: Now I want, who's got any on them?

Monica: I do. Lets go around the back where no one can see.

The bad friends leave the room, the “good friends” and mom start hugging each other and crying.

Dora stands up, takes the blanket off and says,

Dora: This is what happened to me.

Scene changes to Dora sitting alone on the floor doing homework

Dora's mom: Dora, when will supper be ready?

Dora: Just a minute mom, I'm finishing my homework.

If necessary brothers and sisters come in asking about supper and saying they are hungry

Dora goes to mom, carrying food. Mom is in bed.

Mom: I thought you finished all your work already?

Dora: I did, so I thought I'd start on next months science essay. How are you feeling?

Mom: I'd feel a lot better if your father wasn’t out drinking almost every night.

Dora: I think we both would.

Mom: So how are things with you and Darren?

Dora: Oh we're fine. I have to go, dishes don’t clean themselves.

She gives her mom a tired smile.

Dora is sitting talking to herself.

Dora: I don’t know how much longer I can handle this. My moms not getting any better, my dad is certainly not drinking any less. I cant even tell my mom Darren broke up with me two weeks ago to date the most popular girl in the school. At least I had a good shift at the restaurant, but for how much longer? I don’t know if I can cope any longer.

The “bad friends” walk behind her listening. Busi shivers.

Thandeka: Ah shame, did you hear that girls? The goodie two shoes can’t cope.

Busi: That’s what happens when you have to be a know it all.

Caitlyn: Pity she doesn’t know our secret to coping.

Monica: I almost feel sorry for her. Almost sorry enough to give her one of our magic sticks, what do you girls think?

Caitlyn: Do you think she can handle it?

Busi: Only one way to find out, here take some. One or two puffs and you’ll be able to cope with all your problems..

Busi hands Dora a rolled zoll. she takes it and walks away. “bad friends” laugh.

Dora is walking looking at the zoll and bumps into the “good friends”.

Lydia: Hey Dora! Thank you again for helping me learn for the science exam.

Dora: Oh it was my pleasure.

Jessica: What’s that? (pointing to the roll).

Dora: Oh, Busi gave it to me.

Michelle: Dora is that a cigarette?

Jessica takes it and looks at it closely

Jessica: Dora that’s nyaope! What are you doing with it?

Dora: They said it would help me cope.

Tumi: No Dora! You just need some rest, you don’t have to take anything.

Dora: What do you guys know? You don’t have the stress of keeping your families together!

Michelle: Dora please let us help you. We're your friends.

Dora: You can help me by leaving me alone!

Lydia: Dora think about your mom, what would she say?

Dora: About?

Jessica: About the drugs?

Dora: She will never know, its just so I can get through till she gets better.

Tumi: Dora you know that’s not how its going to work. We did an assignment on that remember?

Michelle: She's right, you did very well in it.

Lydia: You'll use it more and more to get by then next thing you know is your a druggie.

Tumi: Then you will be kicked out of school and you’ll never be able to get a good job.

Dora: No! That’s not true, leave me alone all of you!

Dora grabs the zoll then turns and runs away, the friends try and follow. She finds a quiet place and stays standing. She looks at the zoll

Dora: I shouldn’t take too much. Just a puff or two.

She lights the cigarette and takes a puff

Dora stays standing, mom and “good friends” walk back and huddle like they did in the beginning. Scene changes back to the funeral.

Dora still standing with the blanket.

Dora: I knew that this wasn't the right way to fix my problems, but it seemed so quick and easy. It worked for me for a while then one day I got a bad one. Too much Rattex. Now my mom is still sick, my dad is still a drunk and because of my bad decision there is nobody to support them and look after my family.

Hairdressers Badge

Last Friday 9 of the Guides passed their Hairdressers Badge.   It was a bit chaotic - 5 plastic basins with two girls each washing each other's hair, 3 hairdryers going at a time and lots of drying, combing and braiding.

I learned a couple of things that I didn't know about our different cultures.

• Black people with natural hair don't use shampoo.   They use sunlight soap.
• Blow-drying in my culture means blowing the hair while holding it over a round brush or comb and turning it under.   Blow-drying for black people means drying the hair while pulling it out with a comb to straighten it.   It seems very painful and I understand those who choose to have short hair and leave it to dry naturally in which case it dries into the peppercorn style.   What women put up with for beauty!

 

• Black people are very strict about hygiene.   You don't use the same basin for washing hair (or yourself) as you do for washing dishes.   Makes sense.   We differentiate between sinks (for dishes) and basins (or baths) for washing people.

First Guide Camp for Rays of Hope Guides

I finally got brave and organised a camp for the Guides.   Since the beginning of the year the company has exploded with Guides bringing friends and friends bringing friends until I had to tell them no more friends.
I organised 3 of my more responsible girls to help collect the tents and camping equipment from Waverly Guide Hall.   We tried for about two and a half hours to understand the frame tent and eventually gave up.   I would have to try again at home.


Rays of Hope donated the food and transport and the district supplied the camp equipment (old but very serviceable.)   We even found some old billy cans.
On Sunday I arrived at Trefoil Park at 8.30am.   There was a miscommunication with the transport and the girls only arrived at 11.30  We started with the traditional horseshoe where four Guides were enrolled.

The uniform is in the process of changing from blue to navy and we had just been given some old blue skirts so we now have a good mix.   I allowed some of the older girls who had blue sashes to swop their navy skirts to blue ones.

As it was a Sunday and a week since Easter we had a Guides Own focussing on the Cross and why
Jesus died.

.
We followed that with making some mosaic crosses for our craft badge.

After lunch, which I had precooked and brought in a hot box, the real business of camping started.
The tent pitching went fairly well.   I had eventually worked out the system of the tent poles.  
I taught the girls to make bedding racks out of tripods and long cross poles and they coped very well.   I was pleasantly surprised.

The Guides really enjoyed the showers.   They showered on Sunday afternoon, Sunday night and again on Monday before lunch.   Several washed their clothes overnight.

Cooking supper over an open fire was great fun.   Naturally the fires needed a little bit of TLC.

…but eventually did the job very well.

After supper we had a campfire which we all enjoyed.   Then instead of staying to drink hot chocolate the girls made a beeline for the showers and spent about an hour noisily getting ready for bed.   Like all Guides on the first night of a camp they took a long time and a lot of threatening, yelling and eventually praying to get them to settle down and actually go to sleep.
Breakfast was omelette in a bag which worked very well although one patrol’s fire battled a lot.   Of course then there is always the tidy up job which I would say the Rays of Hope Guides are probably better at than other Guides I have been involved with.

Overall the camp was a success with the staff, me, my son, Chris (Grizzly Bear) and Kathleen, his girlfriend (Kitty Bear) all totally exhausted.
As a special treat, Kitty Bear gave each girl a homemade bag with a chocolate inside.

The Guides with their bags

 Considering that one of the girls came to camp without a change of clothes and with no eating utensils (because she said they didn’t have any) I think the girls really had a wonderful time.   They want to go for a six day camp.   Not likely!   One day exhausted me.   I might consider 2 nights next time……

Thinking Day

Thinking Day was actually yesterday, 22 February, when Guides and Scouts all over the world think of each other and send greetings to each other.   Since it fell on a Guide meeting day, I had gone to some extra trouble to organise a cooking meeting.   I had organised with Ikhya Lomusa to use their kitchen and a large pot and the plan was to cook Spaghetti Bolognaise as an Italian dish.   I would send two of the senior Guides across to the kitchen and the rest of them would earn cheese, grater, tomato and onion as well as tin opener by answering questions about Guide history, Thinking day and, as usual, the Guide Laws.   We would also practice the Mauri Stick Game that I had taught them last week, in preparation for visiting the Old Age home later in the term.
Guides starts at 3.30.   By 4 when they had not come, I made some phone calls and found out they were on their way.   Meanwhile I switched on the urn in the kitchen so we could have boiling water to start cooking the spaghetti.   At 4.10 they arrived.   Three of them.   The two youngest and a new comer.   Well, what could I do?   I was a Guider, I had three girls and I had ingredients.   So the four of us started cooking spaghetti, opening tins and grating cheese.
When the spaghetti was almost cooked, Laiza came.  (She lives at the orphanage and had walked home from school)   Not long after her, another 5 came – 3 of my seniors in uniform, another newcomer and an 8 year old sister.  I left Laiza with the young ones to finish the meal while the rest came back with me to our meeting place across the road where they coloured in Italian Guide pictures   No sign of the three new girls from last week although I had received an SMS from Khosi to say that she was waiting for transport.   She never came.
In the end we had 10.   Maria came about 5.15.   The Spaghetti Bolognaise was delicious but we didn’t have time for flag breaking or practice of our stick game.


Today was much more successful.   The region was having a Thinking Day teaspoon tasting lunch.   I had got permission from the principal of Roseact, the Saturday school that the Rays of Hope girls were obliged to attend, for three of the girls to miss school today.   I went to fetch 5 of my senior Guides to take them to Trefoil Park.   Our district was given the country of Jordan to highlight.   I found a photo of some Jordanian Guides on the internet and made head punjabs for the girls.   I was only going to take 4 and identified the 4 before Maria had come but couldn’t leave her out as she was one of the founding guides so one of the punjabs was in another colour.
The girls had a wonderful time and other Guiders from our region had provided the most amazing food so that was a very successful day.  There were games from other countries, as well as wonderful meals.   Everybody had gone to so much trouble and the costumes were great. Happy thinking day to all.