Girlguiding Cayman Islands’ future affiliation with its UK counterpart remains in limbo following the announcement by the British-based board of trustees of its plans to close the organisation’s overseas operations.
Girlguiding Cayman Islands Commissioner Charlotte Lewis says discussions are ongoing between British Overseas Territories chapters and the UK head organisation on the next steps in light of the decision to close overseas girlguiding operations, which was announced last April.
“The Overseas Territories are working hard on options for the future. Meetings and conversations are continuing with Girlguiding UK and the Board of Trustees. So, right now, we are continuing into the new year as we have been under the current structural and logistics organisation,” she said.
Lewis said further updates are due to be made in the early part of 2024.
A UK Girlguiding statement said the timeline for Girlguiding activities in Overseas Territories, which was to end on 31 Dec., has been extended into 2024, to give members time to transition to “any new way we may be delivering Girlguiding in Overseas Territories”.
As for Cayman’s operations, Lewis said, Girlguiding Cayman Islands volunteers are working “very hard on what happens if we do not continue as part of the UK organisation”.
She added, “Girlguiding Cayman Islands [is] very, very keen to keep going. We know that it’s incredibly important for all of our members here and all of our future members. But we just don’t yet know what that will look like logistically behind the scenes.”
British Girlguiding Organisations in the Middle East and Africa, Asia, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France had closed as of 1 Sept. 2023, and other overseas operations were to close on 31 Dec.
In a statement issued on 19 April last year, Girlguiding UK said its board of trustees had decided to cut ties with British Girlguiding Overseas, which includes members in the Overseas Territories, after examining how best “to manage risk, and our future ability to run an overseas operation in 36 countries and territories across the world, each with separate laws and regulations”.
Support for girls, young ladies
Girlguiding Cayman Islands has been a branch association of Girlguiding UK since 1987, and moved under the British Girlguiding Overseas umbrella in 2020 with all other overseas territories.
At present, Lewis said, there are 200 members of Girlguiding Cayman Islands, which includes volunteers and members in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
All sections, she said, which includes rainbows (ages 5-7), brownies (ages 7-10), guides (ages 10-14), and rangers (ages 14-18) have membership.
“We’ve helped develop many younger members throughout the years, and we have people who now remember those days fondly, and they say ‘I remember when I used to be a brownie or a guide.
“It’s really lovely community organisation, and it really helps girls be empowered and helps in the development of… life skills and it really is incredibly rewarding. It’s very upsetting for all of our volunteers that this decision has been made,” she said.
The closure announcement also included news that five girlguiding activity centres in the UK would be sold.
The overall decision did not sit well with many in Britain and across the global girlguiding network.
“It was a shocking announcement,” Lewis said. “Very disappointed. A lot of people have been pretty upset with the announcement and how it’s affecting so many people. We have a long history of girlguiding in the Cayman Islands and we’ve been what’s called a branch association for over 40 years. There’s many, many people that have been involved. We have leaders that are involved now that were brownies.”
UK MPs, including Jim Shannon, raised concern over the UK leadership’s decision and what it means for girls and young women who benefitted from the programmes under girlguiding.
Shannon raised the matter in the UK Parliament and sought a debate the “devastating decision” made by the UK Girlguiding Board of Trustees regarding the operations of their overseas units.
Lewis said Girlguiding Cayman Islands wants to continue with its links to the UK because “with those links we are supported logistically in terms of systems and training, etc”.
“More importantly,” she added, “we form part of an organisation that brings us together with lots of sisters around the world, and that’s really incredibly important for us to keep that link and be part of Girlguiding.”
She said she would welcome any support from either government or not-for-profit organisations for the local girlguiding club to continue its programmes and operations.
For more information and to get involved, email [email protected].
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It sounds like Girl Scouts in the US. Maybe Cayman can connect with them if England is ending ties