Venezuelan World Friendship Badge

Every year we take part in a program called "Badges for Thinking Day" and earn a badge or a challenge from another country. This year, the partner country is Venezuela and we will be earning their World Friendship Badge.

The badge has 6 requirements:

1. Find out about the Law and Promise of Venezuela and four other overseas Guide Associations, one from each of the other four WAGGGS regions.
2. In some countries in the past, Guiding was suppressed for political reasons and Guides had to hide their uniforms and equipment. Pick six items you would hide to keep the Guiding spirit alive, and explain why you have chosen them.
3. Guides all around the world sing Taps. Learn Taps in another language and sing it at the end of a troop meeting.
4. Make and play a game based on the World Badge and/or World Flag. Know what each part of the Badge and Flag stands for.
5. Find out the signs, symbols or traditions that link Guides and Girl Scouts around the world.
6. With your troop, celebrate World Thinking Day

As we have four Patrols, each Patrol was assigned one of the World Regions other than the Western Hemisphere and had to pick a country to prepare a short presentation about (I decided that I would do the presentation on Venezuela as our 'host' country).

The countries we ended up with were:

Western Hemisphere - Venezuela

Europe - Finland

Arab - Oman

Africa - Madagascar

Asia-Pacific - Cook Islands

The patrols worked together over a 3-week period to research information and create a poster about their chosen country. They had to include the Guide uniform, badge, promise and law, as well as the age groups for their country. For country information, they had to find out about where the country is located, the flag, important locations or landmarks, a famous person, sports, food and general statistics (i.e. population, official languages, size).

At our February 5th meeting, each Patrol had the opportunity their poster and tell the other Guides what they had learned. In between presentation, we played games from around the world.

Between the country presentations we played games from different parts of the world:

Numbers Tag (Scandinavia)

The players count off, so that each one has a number that she or he will use throughout the game. One person is chosen to be It and the other players scatter, and each chooses a place to stand and draws a circle on the ground. The circle should be about 4’ across.

When the players are in place. It stands at the edge of the playing area, at any spot he wishes, and calls out two or more numbers. The players whose numbers are called must run quickly to each other’s circles. It tries to get into one of the empty circles first. If she fails, she calls out two more numbers. She may not call either of the two numbers she has just called. When she does manage to get into an empty circle, the player without a circle becomes It.

Folding Arms (Maori)

One player holds the ball while all the other players stand in a line, shoulder to shoulder, with their arms folded across their chests. The player throws the ball to any player in line, and that player must quickly unfold his arms and catch it. If a player misses the ball, he is out. The player throwing the ball may also pretend she is about to throw the ball. If a player in line unfolds his arms, and the ball is not thrown to him, he is also out. The last player left in the line becomes the next thrower

Big Snake (African)

Players pick one person to be the snake who goes to his or her home, an area large enough to fit several people that you may want to mark off with cones. At the sound of a whistle, the snake comes out of its home and tries to tag other players. Tagged children join hands with the snake and try to catch the others. The original snake is always the leader and determines who its "body" will go after. The snake's head and tail are the only parts that may tag "free players." If the snake's body "breaks," the snake must return home, regroup, and start again. Free players may try to break the snake, forcing it to return home. The game ends once everyone is caught or completely out of breath.

 

At our February 12th meeting, we complete the other parts of the badge by talking about the meeting of the different parts of the World Flag and World Badge, making a World Flag craft, discussing the symbols of unity, planning what items they would save to keep the spirit of Guiding alive, playing bingo and learning Daylight Taps.

World Flag Craft

Pre-cut blue rectangles, yellow trefoils and small strips of yellow and white fun foam. Girls cut the strips into 3 squares each and glued the squares and trefoil onto the blue background to make a World Flag for their camp hat.

Symbols of Unity

We asked the girls to think of things that all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world have in common, and then went around the circle to hear everyone's ideas. After this we gave hints to get the girls to come up with the other items on the list. This is the list we used:

1.       World Trefoil, World Badge & World Flag

2.       Four World Centres

3.       Founder – Lord Baden-Powell

4.       World Thinking Day & World Thinking Day Symbol

5.       Motto – “Be Prepared”

6.       Good Turn

7.       Left Handshake

8.       Threefold Sign or Salute

9.       The World Song

10.     A Promise & Law

Keeping the Guiding Spirit Alive

We talked briefly about how Guiding was suppressed in many countries during World War II and how some Guides and Scouts hid items such as uniforms, pins and handbooks away, as well as how they held secret meetings and kept the movement alive during the war.

Each patrol was then asked to make a list of 6 things they would save to keep the spirit of Guiding alive in the same way these Guides and Scouts did, and to also explain why they chose each item. We made a list of suggestions, but the girls could choose any items they wanted to and we had each patrol share their list afterwards.

Bingo!

At the beginning of the meeting, each girl made a bingo card with the answers to questions about the World Flag and Badge, World Centres, WAGGGS, and Guiding Knowledge. To play, we called out a question and the Guides had to give the correct answer. If a girl had the answer on her card, she covered it like a bingo number. The questions we used were:

1. What colours is the World Flag? Blue, White, Gold
2. What is the name of the World Centre in Mexico? Our Cabana
3. What does the blue background on the World Flag stand for? Sky and Sea
4. What is February 22^nd called? World Thinking Day
5. What does the gold rim of the World Trefoil stand for? Sun
6. What does the 3 leaves of the World Trefoil stand for? The 3 parts of the Guide Promise
7. What is the Guide Motto? Be Prepared
8. What does the flame at the base of the World Trefoil stand for? Love of humanity
9. What is the name of the World Centre in India? Sangam
10. What does the centre vein of the World Trefoil stand for? A compass needle guiding the way
11. Who was the World Chief Guide? Lady Olave Baden-Powell
12. What do the two stars in the World Trefoil stand for? The Promise and Law
13. What are girls who work on the program on their own called? Lones
14. What do the white squares in the corner of the World Flag stand for? Peace
15. Who was the founder of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting? Lord Robert Baden-Powell
16. What hand to Girl Guides and Girl Scouts shake with? Left
17. What does every Girl Guide and Girl Scout try to do at least once every day? Good Turn
18. What is the name of the World Centre in England? Pax Lodge
19. How many fingers are used in the Guide Sign? 3
20. What is the WAGGGS Song called? The World Song
21. What shape can be found in the badge of every Girl Guide and Girl Scout? Trefoil
22. How many countries belong to WAGGGS? 145
23. What is the name of the World Centre in Switzerland? Our Chalet
24. What does WAGGGS stand for? World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

At the end of the meeting, I taught the girls Daylight Taps as none of them knew it. Unfortunately my language skills wouldn't quite extend to learning and teaching taps in another language - we are going to try and learn Taps in French later in the year.

The last part of the badge, celebrate Thinking Day, was completed at our annual town-wide Thinking Day Celebration on February 19th.