Name: Namika Chambiras
Age: 12
District: Randwick
Length of time in Girl Guides: one year
Occupation/School: Year 6
Why did you join Girl Guides?
I joined Girl Guides because I was very excited about all the adventures I was going to go on and all the useful life skills I would learn to help me grow into a woman. I also wanted to make new friends.
What are three things you have learnt whilst being in Girl Guides
Meeting lots of people that I had seen before but didn’t know them. Getting close to them has helped me to open up. Learning how to put a massive sleeping bag into a tiny bag at snow camp, and making my very first bed roll, which I never thought I could do (and was surprisingly easy and comfortable).
What life lesson/s do you feel you have learnt from Girl Guides?
To never give up, always try harder and if you never fail in life you never learn. It is good to make mistakes and to think about a different way to solve a problem and to keep going.
What have been your favourite activities in Girl Guides?
Skiing for the first time and all the outdoor activities—Sleepover at the Zoo and hiking.
What characteristics of yourself have you developed that you attribute to your time with the Girl Guides?
Snow camp was amazing. On the first day I felt like giving up, I felt like I was going to hurt myself, my Guide Leaders kept telling me to keep trying and the next day I had improved three levels and was riding the chairlift – all because I never gave up!
My first ever time at Girl Guides—everyone was so welcoming and it was so fun, I felt like I belonged.
Some people may feel that Girl Guides is not relevant to young people growing up with a digital life. What would you say to that?
Girl Guides gives you real firsthand experience and the Guide Leaders are amazing. The friends and community are so much better than being alone on technology. It is a fun journey for all of us to learn and achieve something together.
If we could put you in front of Australia, what would you like them to know about Girl Guides?
I would want everyone to know that the people you meet along the way will be your friends for life. You will go through everything together and it was the best decision I have ever made, and I have learnt so much from being there for a year. Some of the girls I go to Guides with are so talented and I have so much to learn from my amazing Guide Leaders.
What do you feel is the role of Girl Guides in society today?
To help girls become more confident, try and achieve things they haven’t done before, to learn new skills they will have for life and to make new friends they will never lose.
It is great to have older girls to talk to about things, like starting high school. It has been great talking to them about their experiences.