Empowering girls islandwide
Katheri Charcos and Grace Tam are two ladies from the Philippines with an extraordinary passion for Guiding. Katheri joined guiding as an enthusiastic five year-old, while Grace joined quite late-about a year before she left school. Both were in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago for a partnership visit on behalf of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), and they took some time out to speak to the Mirror Magazine on what their visit entailed.
Katheri Charcos and Grace Tam Pic by Athula Devapriya
“A Partnership Visit is when we pay an official visit to a member organisation once every three years in order to work closely with their national leaders and learn about the progress achieved in carrying out their work,” explained Katheri. “It enables member organisations in the Asia Pacific region to gain a better understanding of each other’s development and performance, and it really helps us to plan for the future.” Sri Lanka’s progress is excellent, says Grace. “We were very impressed with what has been achieved in the country. The Sri Lanka Girl Guides’ Association (SLGGA) has made remarkable strides into promoting guiding islandwide.” Even more remarkable however is the excellent progress made in empowering young girls, she adds. “Because that’s what Girl Guiding really is about-giving young women confidence to go out into the world and be who they are.”
“You hear a lot about women’s empowerment,” says Katheri. “But what about young girls? That’s a very important area of development that needs to be looked at. With Girl Guides, we provide what you could call a safe haven for girls to grow into themselves. It can be difficult to interact with your peers when you’re young-especially with boys around. With Guiding, you enter a space where you can choose to do what you like and excel in it. You’re not pressurized into doing things you don’t want to do and you’re encouraged to pursue your passion and recognised for it. That’s a great thing when you’re young.”
We’re told that the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association is a staggering 95 years old. Of course, when you’re an establishment that old, the challenge lies in moving with the times. Through the partnership visit, Katheri and Grace hope to impart knowledge on member retention and involving young people through the web. They’ve also visited Galle and Mattakkuliya as part of their visit and are thrilled with what they’ve seen and heard.
And their parting words of wisdom to all those who wish they had taken up Guiding as a student? “It’s never too late to do your good deed for the day!”
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