[T]o start with, they weren’t quite sure where Armenia was, but that didn’t stop the girls of the 1st Hawkshead Guides from fundraising with enthusiasm.
The Guides are looking forward to their Guide Camp in Clitheroe later in May to which some Armenian Guides and their leaders have also been invited.
Girlguiding Cumbria South’s link with Armenia is the result of member Tina Jackson visiting the country twice as part of Girlguiding GOLD service projects. This has been followed by a group of Senior Section girls going to Armenia last summer. Girlguiding has a proud history of over 100 years in the UK, but has only recently been introduced to Armenia. Many of the Armenian Guides live in poverty and are very excited to have been invited to the UK.
The Hawkshead Guides decided to invite families and friends to an Italian meal, cooked by the girls with a little help from adults, and served by the Guides. Ayoe Hoff, originally from Denmark, praised their efforts “it was very well planned down to name tags and a beautiful colour scheme, and the food was lovely”. She was most impressed by “the cosy atmosphere which is very important when you are Danish”. Guest Sarah Beale, who will also attend the camp as a Guide leader, liked the “fun way of fundraising and the fact that the event made our girls aware of Guides in other parts of the world”. 1st Hawkshead Guide leader Sue Gudgeon commented that “part of the Guide promise is ‘to help other people’ and it was a pleasure to see how well they lived up to this. They are now very excited for camp and to meet the Armenian Guides.”
12-year old Guide Erin Blackburn particularly liked “serving the food to people”, whereas the highlight for Kiera Farrington was “the very nice desserts”. Sophie Cooper (13) and her 11-year old friend Annie Hodgson enjoyed meeting all their guests and organising a tombola, which raised over £60. Overall more than £300 will now go towards hosting the group from Armenia.
