The deliveries are coming!

Now that it is only just over 8 weeks until our trip, we've started ordering all the resources we will need to deliver our peer education sessions. So far we've got:

• 10 small resuscitation dolls
• 4 circuit boards
• Billy bones lifesized skeleton and body parts
• Giant jaw models (for oral hygiene demos)
• Giant demo toothbrushes
• Disclosing tablets
• Mirrors
• Badges
• Neckerchiefs

We have negotiated some additional luggage allowance to check in a couple of extra bags with all our goodies :)

Second team briefing

For our 2nd team briefing, we made a weekend of it - staying at our county residential centre, Pettypool.

We started with some team building games, where each team had to choose a piece of music then be the band who are performing it.

As well as continuing to build and strengthen our team, the main purpose of the weekend was to make a start on writing the peer education sessions we will deliver when we're in The Gambia.

We spent an afternoon working on simple science experiments, which we can demonstrate to the Gunjur Guides and also Sifoe secondary school who we will spend 1/2 day with.

 

 


We also learnt first aid skills, how to make paracord bracelets and woggles, team games, icebreakers and energisers. One of our favourites was the 'ha-ha' game - we probably can't do this in Gambia as the floor is very dirty, but it made us laugh a lot!

Gunjur Guides out working in their community

The Gunjur Girl Guides who we are supporting and working with have been out doing their first piece of community action. They've been litter picking and cleaning in the area where they live. We're so proud of them!

Great progress for Gunjur Guides

A couple of our team members made a private trip to The Gambia over Easter and they took the opportunity to catch up with the Gunjur Guides.

Much has happened since our group was there last year - Jo at the Gunjur Project and Alagi have been working really hard to try to find leaders to run the guide unit. Various options have been tested and currently the group is being led by the amazing and inspiring Betty Sambou. She's an incredible young woman who has 7 children but is still finding the time & enthusiasm to take on this project.

The guide unit has over 35 girls with a list of more who want to join. They are meeting in a couple of different local schools, every Saturday. We have provided them with a variety of resources and activity ideas.

Sue & Rachel visited the guide unit to see how they were getting on and gave Betty some feedback and suggestions on how she could adapt the meetings to make them easier to manage. Then they spent a couple of hours training the 5 patrol leaders. They gave the girls a set of cards with lots of different activities, which the PLs had to put into piles of what they would and wouldn't like to do at Guides. Then they had to prioritise them. This will be useful for helping Betty to plan her programme.

PLs choosing their preferred activities

PLs looking at how guides can help them

They explained to the girls that it's too big a job for Betty to do everything on her own, so the PLs need to help out more and be like her assistant leaders. The girls seemed happy to get involved in this way - if it works out, this will be a huge help to Betty.

The Guides are spending this weekend doing a community project, litter picking in their local area.

It was very encouraging to see how this new guide unit is flourishing and we can't wait to see how things develop over the next year before we meet with them again.

Betty and the Patrol Leaders