President Paula-Mae Weekes yesterday encouraged young women to join The Girl Guides Association of T&T, especially now with the challenges they are facing, including violence. Weekes was speaking at the St Paul’s Anglican Church in San Fernando at a thanksgiving service to welcome her as the Association’s new patron.
Welcoming Weekes to the Guides movement, Association president Jennifer Johnson said it was the first time that a president has held that position.
In her brief greetings, Weekes said she was never a Brownie or a Guide, but she always admired their discipline and how turned out they appeared in their uniforms. “As a Betty myself, I must admit that I always envied in my day of your appearance and manner, given my long-held fascination with your image as guiders it is perhaps poetic that as President of the Republic of T&T I have become your patron.”
Expressing her pleasure in becoming their patron, Weekes said becoming a Guider was a great way to make new friends, participate in adventurous activities and learn to do useful things like tying a slip knot.
However, she said the bigger picture behind the movement and its mission was to enable young girls and women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of this nation and the world. Pointing out that as Brownies and Guides they are well positioned to become future leaders in T&T, she said, “Your training now is also relevant to what you will encounter as young women. Most of you are old enough to know that we live in a nation where violence is often committed against women and so the values and skills that you are now learning through your various activities and interactions will enable you in the future to be bold and confident and understand your value as an individual. Another important lesson that you learn from Guiding is the power of teamwork.”
She said the Association also teaches accountability, respect, and leadership. However, she advised the girls to strike a healthy balance as they juggle Guides with school work.
Weekes added, “None of us can doubt that it is becoming more and more important in our nation for women to be self-assured and resilient. These traits are among those imparted by the Girl Guides Association and you must make every effort to introduce as many of our school girls as possible to the ethos of Guiding.
“I ask you, therefore, to ensure that your recruitment strategies are attractive to today’s young women, ensure that your programmes are relevant and that every child is catered to regardless of background or socioeconomic status. Reach out to parents so that they too will want to place their children in your care. This is a movement which I believe every young woman in this nation should aspire to join.”
She congratulated the Association on its 104th anniversary and thanked them for their contribution to the development of the nation’s future leaders. Weekes and San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello were then ushered to Harris Promenade to visit the Association’s display as they celebrate their anniversary and Guide Month.