Girl guiding Scotland Sangam Trip July 2016

I have recently returned from a trip to India with Girlguiding Scotland and it was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. I have had the opportunity to discover a brand new culture and a completely different way of life and for that I am very grateful.

We had 5 exciting days sightseeing where we did many things including a visit to the Taj Mahal, riding on every type of transport imaginable (including elephants!) and experiencing traditional Indian food and culture. We then travelled to Sangam, the Girlguiding world centre. While we were at Sangam we took part in lots of activities, had a chance to explore the city and even buy saris, the traditional dress of Indian women. We also prepared for our community action projects. I took part in a project in a school named “Bal Kalyan Sanstha” in the city of Pune. Pune has a population of 7 million people. Bal Kalyan Sanstha (BKS) is a school for visual, hearing impaired and mentally challenged children aged 6-18. We worked for 3 days at the school where we organised different activities for the children. We did a variety of activities in the gym with them including the use of parachutes which went down a treat with the mentally challenged children. We also did crafts including hand painting and making pipe cleaner headbands for the girls, I have never seen so many delighted children in one room!

I hope that I can use the skills and knowledge I learned at Sangam to inspire rainbows and brownies in my area to put themselves forward for an opportunity like this in the future and I feel very proud to have represented Girlguiding Scotland at Sangam.