The infectious giggles of young girls echoed through the halls at Hope Academy Thursday evening as they gathered for their weekly Brownies meeting, even as their link with Girlguiding UK is in danger of being lost.
The 16 girls were not only having fun, but they were also learning important lifesaving lessons.
“Every Thursday I can go meet with all my Brownie friends and I can learn how to spread kindness and learn what I can do to help other people in their daily lives, and I can learn how to do first aid,” 10-year-old Robin said.
She is one of the 200 girls that form the backbone of the Girlguiding movement in the Cayman Islands. But now their connection with the UK-based organisation is in jeopardy following a shock decision last year to close down overseas operations.
‘Future generations will benefit’
The girls, all aged from 7-10, recently sent handwritten letters to Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, sharing their feelings of disappointment as they appealed to keep Girlguiding alive for the overseas territories.
The duchess has been the president of Girlguiding UK since 2003.
“[Girlguiding Cayman] is doing an amazing job… and they’ve made so many girls look forward to this club, to come here… and celebrate kindness, sharing and it really helps you realise how lucky you are to be in this world,” Robin said.
Savannah, 12, said she wanted to write her letter so everyone in the UK would know how important the club was to the girls here, adding, “if we keep it… it’s not only us, all the future generations will benefit from it”.
Last Thursday, the Brownies community unit, comprising girls from different schools in Cayman, was taught the first steps in recognising a person in distress and what they could do to help.
Leila, 9, said being able to learn first aid skills and camping has been a great experience.
“It makes me feel really sad and if the Queen was alive I don’t think she’d be happy about [Girlguiding closing here] either. It’s like breaking my heart,” she said.
Jessica, 9, added, “I feel sad because all Queen Elizabeth wanted is to have girls spread kindness.”
The Girlguiding community unit, which meets at St. Ignatius Catholic School once a week, was also in session on Thursday, with members aged 10-14 learning about relationships and managing interactions.
Girlguide Savannah, who attended the session, said the lessons learnt will stay with them forever.
She said through Girlguiding she has had many special opportunities, with her favourite being the time she presented flowers to Sophie upon her arrival at Owen Roberts International Airport in February 2023.
“I was really lucky to be chosen to give her flowers when she came off the plane and I would not have gotten that opportunity if I wasn’t in guiding,” she added.
Lifelong bonds
Girlguiding can also create lifelong bonds with friends, exemplified by sisters Erin and Holly Lewis, whose mum Charlotte Lewis is the Girlguiding commissioner.
“It’s really fun. My mum is a leader and I get to be with my friends,” Holly, 7, said.
Erin, 9, said she especially likes coming to see all her friends “because some of them I don’t get to see at school”.
Charlotte Lewis said she understood the importance of her daughters being in Girlguiding, having moved up through the ranks herself.
“I was involved before they joined, but super excited that they both have joined and that we share that journey together. It’s great to see them grow and learn and make friends,” she said.
When the news broke about the overseas operations being closed, she said the girls were upset and disappointed.
“We had some girls who have been members since they were 5 years old, and they are now teenagers; that’s the importance and the experiences that they’ve had and how much it’s enhanced their life. So to think that that is in jeopardy is actually really heartbreaking,” she said.
Ranger Charlotte Kirk, 17, said Girlguiding has taught her “valuable lessons” which she now imparts as a youth leader in training.
“I think it is extremely important to have a community of women and girls, which I’ve had,” she said, noting the value of her now being able to give back and watch other girls growing up in the organisation.
Girlguiding UK has extended its deadline for closing its overseas territories operations and discussions are continuing on the way forward.
UK legislators recently debated the decision and passed a resolution that a solution be found.
But Cayman Islands Girlguiding will continue no matter what happens in the UK, Charlotte Lewis said.
Noting they are hopeful for a solution to be found, she said the local organisation is “working really hard on making sure that no matter what happens, we can continue to offer the opportunities for girls that come over the next few years”.
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