Songs, Games, Activities and More!

It's been over seven weeks since the end of our unforgettable time in Aruba, and just two more until our team will be reunited for our debrief weekend in the UK. So we thought it time for a little housekeeping on the blog and to find out if there's anything else from our project that we could share.

For your convenience and interest we've gathered together links to some of our previous posts about activities:

• Our favourite parachute games can be found here.
• Some of our favourite songs can be found here. 
• There's a few confidence building activities in this post. 
• Suggestions for recruiting more leaders can be found in this one. 
• And some of the energisers we used can be found here.

But this isn't a full list of everything we did - if there's a song or game that you'd like the instructions for, leave us a comment on here or send us a message on Facebook. 

In Aruba, we ran several activities and sessions related to helping girls get involved in the planning of their own programme. Since our return we've found a few resources that might help leaders do this (wherever you are in the world). You can find activities for all age groups in this 'Participation on a Plate' resource from Girlguiding and there's a few more on the Girlguiding Activity Finder - in fact there's all sorts of other activities in there too for inspiration!

That's all for now, but stay tuned - we'll have another update from our debrief weekend later this month before we hand over this blog to next year's team! 

I like being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017 because...

During the last three weeks we've played a lot of circle games asking participants what they like about being a leader, being a girl, being a Padvinster or a Kabouter. As we approach the end of our project (we have our final evaluation with the board this evening) we felt it was time to ask "Ami gusta ser un mucha GOLD Team Aruba 2017..." (I like being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017 because...):

Amy likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because I got to enjoy an APG camp. Having experienced many Brownie pack holidays and Guide camps in the UK, I was very excited to see what an Aruban camp would be like. From start to finish, it did not disappoint and I had such a great time. I loved getting the time to interact with the leaders and girls that attended and got the chance to know them better. The girls taught us a lot about the island's languages, culture and people (whilst also beating us at Dobble and Quartet)."

Bridget likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because I have made friendships which I hope will last a lifetime. I've had the opportunity to work with inspirational girls and young women and been welcomed like family. This project has been a constant reminder of how much we all have to learn from each other and that was never more obvious to me than n our training sessions. Each training session we met passionate and dedicated volunteers who not only engaged totally in activities but also shared ideas, stories and lessons with us about guiding in Aruba and the Western Hemisphere. I feel that as a team we go back to the UK richer in knowledge and friends. 'Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other GOLD.'"

Helen likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because I have had the opportunity to get to know inspirational women who are passionate about improving the lives of young women and girls. Over the last 3 weeks I have been working with my incredible team of leaders from the UK and I have watched us grow as a team and develop our training skills together. I cannot thank my 5 new friends enough for all of their hard work. As well our amazing team I have had the opportunity to make new friendships with the awesome volunteers in Aruba. The APG have been like a family to us over the last 3 weeks and we couldn't have had a successful project without them."

Laura likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because swimming in the Caribbean Sea is awesome! Our favourite swim had to be on Saturday afternoon during our camp; after a very busy sweaty day (average 'feels like' temperatures of 40c throughout our stay here!) we cooled off with a dip in the sea. I think we had as much fun as the girls and it was truly magical to watch the sun go down with our new Guiding friends."

Pippa likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because during our time in Aruba the leaders and girls have shared their culture with us, taking us to see landmarks from the lighthouse to the anchor, and to events from the Carubbian Festival to the cultural parade in Brasil. We've been introduced to some delicious dishes: arros con pollo, cabrito stoba, and pastechi; and attempted to recreate the Aruban fried rice we tucked into at camp. We've been able to travel far off the tourist track, learnt a little Papiamento along the way, and are indebted to the girls and women we've met who have made our trip into a true exchange of cultures."

Rachel likes being a member of GOLD Team Aruba 2017...

"...because I have made the most amazing guiding friends in the UK who I would never have met without being part of GOLD but I have also made the most inspirational guiding friends internationally from the moment we landed in Aruba being picked up at the airport to our first leader training session, the Padvindster camp, the visits to the girls at their first unit meetings back after vacation and finally to our last training with the APG board. Everyday of project I have made new friends, laughed until our stomachs ached and passed our six smiles around the island and I have loved every part of it."

Visiting Groups and Finding The Best Use For a Blue IKEA Bag...

The final Saturday of our project was a marathon day with scheduled visits to five unit meetings all over the island: Dakota, San Nicolas, Santa Cruz, Savaneta and Noord. Each meets for two hours staggered throughout the day on a Saturday with all age groups meeting at the same time. There are currently Kabouters (7-11) and Padvindsters (12-16) at all the groups we went to, with Beyisimas (4-6) and Pioneers (17-18) at about half.

Thanks to a very generous donation from Ormskirk District we were able to bring three parachutes for Aruban units to share, so parachute games were a major feature of the activities we ran with the girls. Many had never played these games before or even seen a parachute.

Here's just a few of the games we played and their instructions:

• Cat and Mouse

Pick one (or two) cat(s) and one (or two) mouse (mice). Cats are on top of the parachute and the mouse is underneath. The cat is aiming to catch a mouse and the mouse to escape the cat. Everyone else around the outside is kneeling/sitting down and creating waves to help hide the mice.

• Sharks

Pick a shark to go under parachute and 2 lifeguards to run around the outside of the circle. Everyone sits with legs out long under the parachute making waves. The shark pulls people under and the lifeguards can save them if they get to them in time.

• Me too

Everyone stands holding parachute, on the count of 3 lift the parachute high into the air. On '3' announce a fact e.g. wearing something blue and everyone who that applies to must run under the parachute and find a new space before it comes back down.

• Mushroom

On the count of 3 everyone lift the parachute up over head and bring it down behind them to sit on the edge of it. Everyone should be inside the mushroom. If it’s a good one you could play 'Telephone' or other similar games.

• Parachute volleyball

Divide the parachute in half into two teams. Each team is aiming to get the ball off the side of the other team by working together to waft it in that direction meanwhile defending their own side.

Being a girl guide or girl scout is a really great opportunity to have fun and play games, but also stresses the importance of community action. The news over the past week or so has been filled with stories of Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia which have been severely impacting other parts of the Caribbean during our project. During our session with the girls in San Nicolas we found out about and got involved in their contribution to providing relief to inhabitants of sister islands. 

San Nicolas is home to a specialist medical facility and the girls and leaders in the district told us about 65 residents from St Martin with long term health conditions who had been transferred here to escape the hurricanes. A local church building had been transformed into a collection centre for supplies for these displaced people and others affected, and the girls had messaged each other ahead of their first meeting back after the summer break and made arrangements to collect toiletries and supplies that were needed. We accompanied the group to deliver these to the donation centre during our session. 

The co-ordinator told us what they need more of: we'll collect some toiletries and other items over the next few days, but whilst we were there we were able to contribute some of the bags we've been using to transport resources during our project. Before we left the UK we were tasked to find the best use for a large blue IKEA bag: what better use could there possibly be than transporting donations for communities in need!

Tomorrow is our last day of training and the end of the project has come around all too fast. We will be evaluating the project on Monday with APG board members, but it's already clear from our interactions with the girls and leaders today that we have definitely been able to leave some lasting impressions from our time in Aruba. 

#LeadersOfAruba #3 and #4

Next up in our series of #LeadersOfAruba, we have two leaders who have made our stay in Aruba extra special and fun, especially at camp last weekend. First up is Annelien.

On day one, Annelien picked us up from the airport and helped us to find our accommodation. Throughout our stay she's been at many of our sessions and activities, giving us a chance to learn from each other during the project. She took the lead on the logistics of our camp at Papaya Ranch, enabling us to focus on the programme. Everybody we have come across on the island seems to know Annelien (from the members of Quota Club to the dean of the University) and she uses these contacts to provide even more amazing opportunities for the Padvindsters in Aruba.

The second leader we want to mention in Rose Ann. At camp she got the girls organised at mealtimes and to carry out their chores, and we saw a little of her competitive side as she joined in with our peg collecting wide game. Early on, Rose Ann helped Pippa to complete her project challenge as she attended a previous World Scout Jamboree in the Netherlands. Through the conversations during project and activities we've run with young women about international opportunities, we've found plenty of Padvindsters who would be delighted if she lead a group of them to the next World Scout Jamboree in the USA in 2019!

To both of these leaders we want to say thank you for helping to make our project a success so far and for the opportunities you offer to the girls and young women of Aruba! 

If you have a skill, resources, or a small amount of time that you too could give to support Het Arubaanse Padvindsters Gilde, then we have a fun session planned this evening at YMCA San Nicolas (6-9pm) where you can find out more and get a taste of girl guiding and girl scouting. 

Padvindsters, Pioneers and Plenty of Fun

Other than camp, so far during our project we’ve run two different sessions for Padvindsters and Pioneers. The Padvindsters (aged 11-16 years) and Pioneers (aged 16-18 years) travelled from all over the island to attend and meet up with other APG members.

The latest session (on Tuesday) took place at the YMCA San Nicolas with 18 girls and 6 leaders coming from different units across Aruba. Our session and activities focused on leadership skills, WAGGGS and opportunities open to young members in girl guiding and girl scouting. Our leadership activities were very popular with girls and really started them thinking about their Guiding journeys.

Through the activities, the girls and leaders shared their proudest moments and hopes for the future. One of these activities was “Dreamers”: statements are written at the centre of pieces of paper and each person writes on an ending to the statement, for instance “Who says we can’t be…” and the response of “ourselves”. Here’s three of the responses from girls and young women who took part in the session:

Another activity we ran was “Fortune Tellers”. For this activity, you fold a fortune teller (instructions here) and on the inside write four things you’re proud of in Guiding and four things you’d like to achieve. The girls and leaders shared their moments with each other such as: “I have learnt different skills that help me in my everyday life”. “I want to visit the World Centres”. “I want to raise money for people that are in need” and “I want to be a Leader”.

At the end of our session the girls and leaders evaluated the session by filling out speech bubbles with something they had learnt or really enjoyed about the evening. Here’s our favourite picture.

Tonight and tomorrow we’re running sessions for anyone who is interested in volunteering with the APG. If you think you could contribute to making some of these girls wishes for the future come true, then head down to YMCA Dakota (6^th Sep) or YMCA San Nicolas (7^th Sep) from 6pm-9pm to get a taste of what girl guiding and girl scouting is all about.

Everyone Loves a Game of Elephant Football!

Two days of project delivery down and we’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with 21 leaders from Het Arubaanse Padvindsters Gilde so far: on Friday night we met the board and on Saturday we’ve delivered our first day of training for leaders on the island.

Saturday’s training took place at the APG clubhouse in Dakota with 17 leaders in attendance, representing a wide spread of ages and different units from across Aruba. Our activities focus on guiding principles, WAGGGS and promoting the opportunities offered by guiding, and our energisers in particular went down really well. Here’s a run down of some of the most highly rated (in smiles and laughter) of those energisers:

• Elephant Football: Standing in a circle everyone spreads their legs wide so their feet are touching their neighbours. Using your arms as a trunk you have to block the ball as it is knocked across the circle. If it goes through your legs you’re out and the circle gets smaller.
• Get Loose: This repeat after me song. This repeat after me song. Is Mirtha’s favourite. Is Mirtha’s favourite. And she lead it for us during the session to much applause.
• Me too: An icebreaker where someone in the centre of the circle shouts out a fact about themselves. If the fact also applies to you, you try and swap places with someone else and not get left as the last one in the middle.
• Human knot: Everyone holds hands with two other people across the circle (not those standing next to you) and then try and untangle yourselves back into a circle. This one needs problem solving and good communication skills.

During the session we also used some resources to introduce WAGGGS – including a card sort activity we first learnt at one of our briefing weekends. You can download that cards for this activity from here. We had some great feedback about how much had been learnt about WAGGGS during the session, but these are two of our favourite comments:

  

On Sunday we hope to see lots of familiar faces again and a few new ones for day two of leader training!

Live in Aruba and not currently involved in guiding? We have two sessions that are open to all where you can come along and find out more about the organisations. Both are 6-9pm, and we are at YMCA Dakota on the 6^th September and YMCA San Nicolas on the 7^th September. 

P.S. We've been making headway with our trip challenges: today Pippa met Rose-Ann who attended the World Scout Jamboree in the Netherlands in 1995 as a young member, we all did some yoga in the pool for Bridget's challenge, and Helen has been practising her hand-stand in the (relative) safety of the pool.