Kenya Girl Guides Association
- Jan 7, 2022
- 6 min read
The Beginning and Development of the Kenya Girl Guides Association
About Kenya Girl Guides Association
The Beginning of Kenya's Girl Guides happened in 1920, 10 years after the Girl Guides took off in the U.K, and met in the ground of Government House in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The organisation officially registered as a company in 1922 the Kenya Girl Guides Association, which it is still known as today.
Todays Kenya Girl Guides Association consists of the same structure as the U.K. program;
Rainbows, for girls aged 3 to 6
Brownies, for girls aged 6 to 9
Guides, for girls aged 10 to 14
Rangers, for girls aged 14 to 18
Young leaders, for women ages 18 to 35
Bravo (Not in the U.K. and is the newest formed branch), for women aged 35 to 50
Trefoil, for women aged 50+
During the early years of the Kenya Girl Guides Association, the Girl Guides were confined to schools which only admitted European girls. In 1935 the first Indian Guide Company and Brownie pack were opened in the Capital and a year later a pack opened for African Girls to attend. Guiding began to spread rapidly through the country and Kenya officially became a member of WAGGGS in 1963, becoming a full member in 1975 when the African Region Committee was established.
Kenya Girl Guides Association will be celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year (2022) with over 380,000 girls being apart of the program.
The association believes in supporting girls and women the chance to develop essential skills to contribute to global issues, campaigns against the nation, climate change and violence against girls, to name a few.
The Vision: Girls Creating a better world
The Mission: To raise girls and young women to be beacons on integrity nurturing and championing social value
The Core Values: Dignity, Integrity, Spirituality, Servant Leadership and Citizenship
Each year on World Thinking Day, Kenyan Girl Guides and Scouts across the country visit the resting place of the Lord and Lady Baden-Powell in Nyeri, Kenya. Robert and Olave lived in Kenya for several years before Robert's death in 1941, saying Africa was where his heart was truly at. Lady Olave Baden-Powell passed away in 1977. They are now buried together on the site which Kenya has declared a National Monument.
Other Programs
Over the years, Kenya Girl Guides Association has formed 6 special programs for Girls to join: 'Dreams', 'IOGT', 'MALALA', 'Free Being Me', 'Ready to Work' and 'YESS'.
Dreams
Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids free, mentored and Safe
Global Communities (Partners for Good), Kenya Girl Guides (KGGA) and St Johns Community Centre (SJCC) are in partnership with an aim of preventing new HIV /AIDS infections for Adolescent Girls and Young Women aged between 10-24 years in Nairobi’s informal settlements
IOGT - Alcohol Prevention Project
To keep children safe from the ill effects of alcohol abuse by reducing underage drinking by 20%in 47 Counties in Kenya active in Girl Guiding by 2021
In partnership with a Swedish International NGO, KGGA has been supporting the implementation of an empowerment program on prevention of alcohol use and abuse by engaging girls as peer educators in schools and in their communities.
MALALA
KGGA in partnership with GlobalGiving Foundation is implementing Malala Advocacy project aimed at Educating and empowering young people to advocate for girls’ rights to education.
Free Being me - A WAGGGS Initiative Project
Empowering girls through improving body confidence and self-esteem
Imagine a world free from appearance-related anxiety. A world where people can define beauty for themselves – we are making this incredible vision A REALITY!
Did you know that 8 out of 10 girls are so concerned with the way they look that they opt out of important activities?
Ready for Work
A Ready to Work online program covering budget, work, people and entrepreneurial skills done in partnership the Barclays Bank of Kenya. This project compliments academic and technical skills towards ensuring the youth aged 18 to 24 years are adequately equipped for the work world.
YESS
The YESS (Youth Exchange South to South) project aims at giving young women (18-25 years) from WAGGGS’ Member Organisations in Africa an opportunity of a six month international experience, which also gives them a platform to be change agents and make meaningful contribution to both their home and host countries.
As well as the 6 programs above, Kenya Girl Guides Association are in partnership with the Kibera Girls Centre. The aim of the centre is to train Girls in any of three disciplines, being Catering, Sewing or Beauty, after which they start their small and medium enterprises.
The girls are trained for free through funds donated by Partners and Potential Donors which are willing to assist the young girls make a difference in their lives.
The Programs
Rainbows
The Rainbows program in Kenya allows young girls ages 3 to 6 to learn whilst playing games, painting and more. They meet once a week for around an hour.
Activities include: preparing a healthy snack, discovering the community, learning art work, going for hikes and picnics.
The youngest division can be identified through their red dress and white neckerchief;
Brownies
The Brownie program allows girls ages 6 to 9 to gain experiences as they make new friends and learn about the world around them.
Girls meet in 'Flocks' of groups of roughly around 10-12 girls, this allowed for challenges and development.
I promise to do my best: To do my duty to God and my Country, To help other people every day, and To keep the Brownie Law - Kenya Brownie Promise.
A Brownie is truthful, obedient and cheerful. A Brownie thinks of others before herself - Kenya Brownie Law.
The Brownie program ensures girls to be able to have support, along with supporting one another, it also allows them to make their own decisions, take care of themselves, learn and take risks and more. Activities include: hikes and picnics, handcraft, singing and community work.
Brownies can be identified by their orange dress, yellow sash and orange hat;
Guides
The Guides program is for girls aged 10 to 14. The program allows girls to enjoy adventure and challenges as well as learning. They get to try a wide range of activities, discover, decide, plan and do and evaluate their program, earn badges and develop skills.
Guiding activities include: Community work, parading, life skills such as how to survive without access to a lot of water, camping and hiking.
I promise on my honour that I will do my best: To do my duty to God and my Country, To help other people at all times, and To obey the Guide Law. - Kenya Guide Promise
As well as the Guide Promise, Kenyan Girl Guides also follow the Guide Law:
A Guide’s honour is to be trusted
A Guide is loyal
A Guide’s duty is to be useful and to help others
A Guide is a friend to all and a sister to every other Guide
A Guide is polite and considerate
A Guide preserves and loves nature
A Guide is obedient and has respect for others
A Guide is courageous and is cheerful under all circumstances
A Guide is careful and avoids wastefulness
A Guide is pure in thought, word and deed
A Guide can be identified by her Blue dress and hat along with a red sash to hold her badges;
Rangers
Rangers is for girls aged 14 to 18. As a ranger girls can begin to explore career options and continue learning valuable skills such as planning and budgeting as well as being able to take an active leadership in global development projects, teaching and more Rangers are challenged to explore new experiences and take responsibility for their own planning.
Activities in Rangers include: adventuring, debates, community work and networking.
Rangers can be identified with a blue skirt and white blouse, blue neck tie and hat;
Young Leaders
Young leaders is for women aged 18 to 35. The program is aimed for those who are looking at going to university, who are job hunting or women who are looking to make new friends both locally and internationally.
The program includes: Adventures, games, hiking, mentoring and being mentored, community participation and environment conservation, tackling problems close to individuals.
Young leaders wear a blue and yellow necktie ring;
Bravo
Bravo is the newest formed branch of the Kenya girl Guides Association. It is for women ages 35 to 50. The group meets monthly rather than weekly and activities are focused on issues that are relevant to the women, from a location or international perspective.
Activities include: conferences, networking, mentorship and volunteering.
Trefoil Guild
The Trefoil Guild is form women aged 50 and over, although part of the Guiding Movement in the country, it is independently administers and is self-supported financially.
The Trefoil Guild's aims and objectives are:
To keep alive among members the spirit of the Guide Promise and Laws.
To carry that spirit into the communities in which members live and work.
To give practical, financial and moral support to Guiding. It is recommended that every Division and/or District should have at least one Trefoil Guild.
The Trefoil Guild can be identified by a blue patterned dress and blue neckerchief;
Comments