The End.

The team are now at home (probably still sleeping), but we wanted to fill you in on our final adventures in Aruba.

#theAtour
On Saturday, we embarked upon a mammoth journey around the whole of Aruba, attempting to visit 5/6 of the APG groups (one group hasn't stared back after summer yet) and it was a success! We started out in Dakota and moved on to San Nichols before a quick lunch stop where we ate A LOT of chicken! After lunch we visited Savenata, Santa Cruz and last but not least, Noord.
It was great to see the groups in action, and we were really excited to see many of the girls and leaders we've worked with over the last few weeks putting their new skills into practice. 
Watch our video here.

Board training and project evaluation
On Sunday, our GOLD project officially came to a close with a successful board training and project evaluation. The board listened to feedback from members of the APG and ourselves and put together short action plans for setting up a youth board, improving communication throughout the APG and putting a structure in place to support their current leaders, and train younger leaders. 
The project evaluation was very successful, with both sides agreeing that a real change in attitudes of the girls and leaders has been seen over the course of the project, which has been really fantastic for us to see!

"Onward Travel"
After the official end of project, the team have spent a few days exploring the last few corners of Aruba - we visited the national park (on an amazing off-road wheelchair, and a six seater UTV), relaxed in the sunshine, had a romantic evening meal on the beach, snorkelled with the fish, watched another fantastic sunset and even tried our hand at making glass beads!

We've absolutely loved our time in Aruba, and the thing that will stay with us the most is the hospitality and generosity of the people of Aruba, especially the members of the APG, it really is one happy island ❤️

Thanks to everyone who's supported the individual team members throughout this GOLDen journey, we couldn't have done it without you!

#theAteam

Follow the leader!

We thought it was about time we updated you all again – sorry for the delay but we’ve been making the most of our last few days on this amazing island. The sad reality for us is that our project has come to an end, but we hope the training and experiences we’ve had here stay in everyone’s minds for a long time after we have left. 

Leadership – the next and final level  

On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we ran sessions for the Padvinsters (PV’s), young leaders and Pioneers on encouraging them to take their leadership to the next level, building on the skills and techniques learnt at camp. With a new outdoor location (Club Kibrahacha) we were pleased to see so many familiar faces along with a couple of new ones (30 in total). We gave the girls the opportunity to look at some of the UK resources which we were kindly donated to share with the APG and use these as inspiration to plan their own session. This was a big challenge for the girls but we were really impressed with the level of concentration. On Wednesday each group of PV’s ran a game or activity for their peers. It was very rewarding for us to see the impact that we have had on these girls in such a short amount of time, with them all growing in confidence and leading games that we had taught them. 

Here are a few quotes from the girls themselves about their experience of GOLD Aruba 2018:

“I learnt to be confident and to believe in myself”

“I learnt that working with others is easier than I thought it would be”

“I want to become a better version of myself as a future leader”

“I have made new friends and talked to girls I’ve never talked to before”

“I want to be a great leader like you guys in the future”

“I surely am a greater leader now. Not only for my guiding group but in my school, at home and with myself. I know how to lead my road to the degrees I want to accomplish”

“For sure I’m going to use the things I’ve learnt during these sessions. The main reason why is because I’m studying hospitality management and for that I need to know how to stand up and take the lead”

Leading by example

On Thursday evening we ran a session for the leaders of the APG to help them understand what we have been doing with the girls and how they can facilitate youth participation and youth leadership within their own units. It was fantastic to see the positive attitudes and the openness to try new things from the leaders who had already been to one of our sessions. A lovely dinner provided by the APG gave us a chance to continue our discussions until well after 10pm!

Social Gathering

After all the hard work, energy and commitment from both the APG and ourselves we enjoyed a night out together to a pizza restaurant. From beginning to end the APG have been incredibly supportive and generous hosts, going above and beyond to ensure we had a great experience. We enjoyed getting to know a bit more about the individuals we had spent so much time with, comparing our Guiding and country cultures. 

#theAteam

Camp

24 Padvinsters (Guides), 7 Young Leaders and Pioneers (Rangers), 8 Leaders, 7 GOLDies and a flock of sheep met at Emma School for a weekend Best of British camp planned and delivered by us. Emma School provided the perfect location with views of the sea and plenty of classrooms and space out of the sun. The whole weekend had a leadership theme, helping us to inspire and encourage the next generation of APG leaders. 

FRIDAY 

We started off the camp with a series of crafts whilst the excitement rose as everyone arrived. After the opening ceremony we played a very active London Bus Drive game (similar to beetle drive) and sweated from every pore as Becca treated us to some excellent Ceilidh dancing. This style of dance was new to the Arubans and ended in much hilarity as they got to grips with spinning their partner!

SATURDAY 

The day that never ended… 16 hours of training and activities started with a 06.30 am surprise wake up and shake up. 

After a sleepy breakfast (with thanks to Dianna for the food) we split and delivered trainings to the Leaders, PV’s, and YL’s/Pioneers on Guiding opportunities, youth participation, peer led Guiding and action planning. Despite the early start the girls were really engaged, keen to get more out of the APG, and inspired to plan and run activities themselves. Nicki and Caroline ran a very successful session with the Leaders (with a request for another) enlightening them to realise they can allow the girls to take ownership and lead for themselves.   

The afternoon started with a post lunch siesta and a wide game. Stations included team games and challenges with a leadership focus. Nobody told us that we would have some special guests who baa-ed their way into camp! News of the fun we were having had obviously spread far and wide as a flock of sheep tried to join in running in between grass patches! The GOLDies were astounded, and several attempts at herding were made, while the APG were not phased and more interested in finishing their activities.

Ant and Dec and the Britain’s Got Talent judges made a surprise appearance for an evening talent show featuring dances, various baby shark renditions, songs and a winning theatre sketch on bullying. Ant and Dec (Sophie and Emily) enthused the crowds of APG members while Simon was as brutal as ever! A modern-day campfire (minus the fire) gave us an opportunity to share songs and sing together - a great end to the day. 

SUNDAY 

The GOLDies were alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic on Sunday morning while the girls and leaders took a little longer to get going. The morning was spent utilising the girl-led skills they had learnt the day before to create and present their ‘perfect camp’ plans. Ideas included survival camp in the national park, nightmare before Christmas and a joint camp with the scouts.

We were joined for this session by a special guest, Grace, who has been involved in GOLD in Aruba from the start and also had a lovely meeting with her on Thursday. We ended camp with an evaluation and reflection on the weekend - everyone had a great time and learnt a lot. It was great seeing the girls grow in confidence over the weekend and be excited to be the leaders of the future. 

In other news……

·     The wind continues to provide a constant challenge – washing and flip chart paper fly everywhere and you definitely can’t read the daily newspaper or play cards outside (believe us, we have tried!). 

·     ALWAYS wash your Aloe Vera!

·     Sunsets are stunning.

·     Emma does in fact like fish!

·     Vince looks so shiny after a bath.

·     Butterflies live for longer as caterpillars than butterflies (the butterfly farm was very much enjoyed). 

·     Charlie Bar’s is the BEST bar in the world, entertaining us throughout lunch. 

·     International neckers are a great talking point and gives you VIP access!

#theAteam

Training 1, 2, 3!

So here it is, the long awaited blog post about our first three training sessions!! We've had a very busy few days of planning and running three training sessions, but still managing to squeeze in some sight seeing and relaxation time. 

Session 1 - Getting to know GOLD 2018 

This session took place on Saturday afternoon and was a fantastic introduction to the APG members! In attendance there was a mixture of APG board members, unit leaders, Padvinsters (Guides), Pioneers (Rangers) and Young Leaders. They were all very enthusiastic and joined in with a range of energetic team games, such as passing the ball down the line etc... We think everyone was in agreement that the polo match-stick relay was the most entertaining!! We left the session with a better understanding of the APG and its members and were ready to finish the planning for our next two sessions.

Nicki and Mirtha excelling at the polo match-stick relay!

Session 2 - Padvinsters Leadership 1 

Our second session was where we got down to the real business that we came to Aruba for - training the young APG members on leadership. We soon learned that we'd have to get used to the relaxed "island time", but we worked really well as a team to adjust our training plan and still deliver a fantastic session. The girls delivered some excellent pitches on why their chosen famous leader was the best, came up with some great positive and negative qualities of a leader, and learned what style of leader they were. Towards the end of the session they each had some time to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses. All the Padvinsters had a great time and were enthusiastic about attending future sessions and our upcoming camp this weekend.

Session 3 - Padvinsters Leadership 2

Last night we ran a follow-up leadership session for the Padvinsters. We had a larger group than our previous session, but most of the attendees from session 2 returned. Success! This session focussed on exploring their opportunities within the APG and developing personal journey plans. The girls discussed why they are members of the APG, what they enjoy and the first word that came into their head when thinking of the APG. They then took these ideas and produced TV adverts for the APG to encourage other young people to join them.

All hands, legs and wheels on deck to hold down the flipchart paper!!

Other things to note from the last few days:

• We've now been in Aruba for over a week - WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?!
• Lizards get everywhere - who knew they could swim?!
• Aruba is a windy place. Always. 
• Flip chart paper is unruly in the wind. 
• Sunrise is early and not very easy to see when it's cloudy...
• Watch out for road obstacles: goats, shipping containers, fluorescent orange rocks etc.
• Cultural parades are a great excuse to dance in the street.
• Salt fish is not salty.  
• Ice cream is always a welcome treat (thanks Mirtha and Cecelia!)

#theAteam