It was a slow start this morning after last night’s entertainment and a power cut in the night.
This was our second morning with the Gunjur Girl Guides. It was brilliant to see them all gathered together in their new uniforms looking very smart.
We had a great turn out of girls in their Easter holidays – especially as it’s also Ramadan. Five local leaders brought their Guides from Gunjur and there were also some Guides from Brikama. There were 10 other leaders and trainers from outside the area.
Today we had 2 sessions on menstrual hygiene and drug awareness.
The menstrual hygiene session were girls and leaders together where they learned about puberty, why periods happen and how to cope with them. We gave each girl 3 reusable sanitary pads from Earthwise Girls in a waterproof bag and they were shown how to wash them.
Drug awareness was the other session and we started by learning what was a drug and what was a medicine. We had some interesting answers including some we hadn’t heard of! The message was to JUST SAY NO!!!
Just before we left, we presented gifts to the Gambian leaders and the head teacher made a speech. Then the chief commissioner of The Gambian Girl Guides also made a speech. We were waved off by a crowd of girls.
Team Gambia with the Gambian leadersAfter another lovely lunch, Mr Sulayman Bojang came to teach us batik dyeing with mixed results – but we had fun trying. We did batik, tye dyeing pencil cases, bags and other items. Eventually there was a long line of coloured creations hanging on the line! There was a bit of drama when the hot wax caught fire but it was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries. Some of us still have coloured fingers from the dye!
After tea we played Omar’s bingo. Quite a few team members won prizes!
By Cath & Nicky