Introducing: Pippa

Mi ta Pippa. Mi ta 26. Mi ta un studiante i un yefrou di skol.

What is your name, how old are you and where are you from?

I’m Pippa. I’m 26 currently but will be 27 by the time we travel in the summer. And I currently live in Hull in the North East of England. I’ve moved around a lot over the last few years and have previously been involved with guiding in Sheffield, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

What do you do in guiding?

Due to my other commitments and commuting to work, I’m just an occasional helper with local units. But a few times a year I run Peer Education trainings around the country to support more young women to become peer educators and work on our programmes like Think Resilient (addressing mental wellbeing) and Free Being Me (which looks at body confidence). I got into training after becoming a peer educator myself 10 years ago and I’m now starting on my guiding training qualification to be able to other subjects and sessions to all volunteers.

What do you do outside of guiding?

I have just started a new job for Hull 2017 UK City Culture, though I am still also currently finishing off a PhD in Geography at the University of Sheffield. I’m in the writing up stages of a research project looking at the design and use of museums and I’ve set myself the deadline to hand in before we head off to Aruba! Alongside this I have been a Tutor in the study skills service at the university where I run workshops and individual support appointments for students on everything from academic writing to presentation skills, time management and mind-mapping. In my spare time I’ve recently starting volunteering for a local women’s charity: Preston Road Women’s Centre (also known as Purple House).

What are you most excited about for our project in Aruba?

I’m really looking forward to getting to know the local leaders and girls in Aruba. From our first provisional timetable for the project, and as Aruba is a relatively small island, it looks like we will get to meet a lot of the members there. I’m also excited about the possibility of joining them on a weekend camp during our visit as the photos I’ve seen of their previous activities online look like a lot of fun!

What role will you be taken on in the team, and what does this involve?

Within the team I’ve taken on the role of Social Media Co-ordinator and so I take the lead on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, oversee this blog and generally make sure we’re telling the world about our project. We’re sharing responsibilities though so that we all get a chance to develop new skills and so the other team members will be writing posts and I’m going to be deputising for our First Aider should we need it.

Is there an interesting fact about Aruba that you’ve found out since getting a place on GOLD?

Since getting a place on this GOLD project to Aruba I’ve been trying to do a bit of research about the island. I’m fascinated by new languages and always like to know a bit before I travel to a new place so that I can be polite. English seems to be widely spoken in Aruba, but I’ve been trying to learn a little Papiamentu before we go. It’s a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, with some Arawak Indian and African influences and is one of the few Creole Languages of the Caribbean that has survived to the present day. You can find out more about its history and usage here.

How is your fundraising going – what have you done so far and how could people reading this blog contribute?

My fundraising is going well and I’ve received support from several organisation and grants towards my total. I also took on some extra part-timework over Christmas which has contributed to the amount I need. If readers would like to help, I’m organising a ‘Postcards from Aruba’ activity: in return for a donation I will send updates and activities and the all important postcard itself! There are more details about this on my Justgiving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Pippa-Gardner-Aruba