Junior Girl Scouts Keira Pullen and Hazel Patrick visit Jamaica to have their hair styled with bright yellow and green ribbons, then stop by France for samples of French pastries and bread.
Their passports are stamped and the girls move on to the Dominican Republic. With the world to travel and only a few hours to get everywhere, they need to keep moving. They can do it. They are Girl Scouts on a mission.
Chugiak-Eagle River (CER) Girl Scouts came together at Community Covenant Church on Feb. 18 to explore countries from around the world as part of World Thinking Day. The event celebrates the friendship and sisterhood of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in 146 countries around the world.
Caroline Moffet, an 11-year-old Cadette Girl Scout from Troop 690, took on the challenge of organizing the day as part of earning her Silver Award. She arranged for space, notified troops of the logistics, made sure passports were in order and set up the room for the event.
“It’s an important event for Girl Scouts. I wanted to see it get done this year,” says Caroline, looking around the room to make sure everything moved along.
Caroline stops by her troop’s display about Jamaica. Troop 690 prepared hair ribbons to braid into visitors hair as swaps. A crockpot of Jamaican chicken and rice with sample cups sat next to their educational display about Jamaica.
Caroline’s Leader, Melissa Jones, carries a piece of duct tape on her vest to remind her to stay silent and let Caroline run the show. Jones says Caroline, “was doing a fantastic job.”
The 2.7 million Girl Scouts and volunteers in the United States are part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Started in 1926 and celebrated on February 22, World Thinking Day is a day of international friendship, a platform for speaking out on issues that affect girls and young women and fundraising effort for 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world.
At the CER event, each participating troop chose a country where Girl Scouts and Girl Guides were active. The girls offered foods, crafts and swaps representative of the culture, then took turns traveling the world with passports, learning about each nation.
Cecilia Ross is in Junior Troop 657. As her troop prepared for the event, she says they learned about France and the culture. Cecilia explained that she learned, among other things, that the longest river in France is the Loire River. Her troop offered slices of French bread and pastries to travelers.
Keira and Hazel’s Junior Troop 615 learned about India. The girls dressed in costumes depicting the clothing girls would wear in India.
Peru offered avocado sandwiches and a sticky bread with fruit sauce. Troop 614 shared the food and culture of the United Arab Emirates.
Troop 637 brought people to the Dominican Republic. The girls lined up behind their display, excited to share their country.
Jolie Robison of Troop 637 explained the ingredients of “morir sanando”, a creamy, fruity drink from the Dominican Republic. It contained a mixture of milk, fruit juice, and sugar.
“It tastes kind of like a creamsicle,” offers Girl Scout Alicia Littlejohn.
Editor’s Note: Gretchen Wehmhoff is a member of the ECHO News team and longtime resident of Chugiak. She is a former teacher at Chugiak High School. Wehmhoff is a candidate for Anchorage Assembly and will not be writing Assembly-oriented articles during the campaign.