[E]ight local members of Girlguiding’s Senior Section and four of their Leaders recently returned from an action-packed week in Romania. The 14 to 18 – year old young women travelled to support the “Smiles” Foundation who work with disadvantaged, elderly or unwell people.
This meant practical tasks such as decorating and gardening, but also visiting elderly care home residents who don’t normally have visitors, and sorting out school supplies and clothing for families in need.
The highlight was a visit to the swimming pool with local Roma Gypsy children. Guide Leader Vicki Noble commented that “these children had never been anywhere like this before and some of them went on a bus for the first time too”. With one-to-one support the children soon had a lot of fun in the water, as did the Guides who assisted them. For 15-year-old Adele Bayman from Staveley “this was my favourite activity because it allowed the children to enjoy themselves stress-free.”
Girlguiding Cumbria South’s Commissioner Sue Gudgeon, who was one of the group Leaders, judged the trip a great success: “Overall it was an amazing week where the girls and Leaders were able to make a difference to those less fortunate than themselves. They were able to experience another culture and to learn more about themselves and the things they could do.” This was echoed by 14-year-old Maria Miln from Bowness: “The week gave me the amazing opportunity to really see how life is in a different culture and helped to let me know that anyone can make a difference. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and doing it with Girlguiding made it all the better. I would recommend it to anybody considering doing volunteering work.”
