Girl Guides Australia Centenary Celebrations support UNICEF
Girl Guides Centenary Celebrations
This year Girl Guides Australia is celebrating “100 years of Guiding” and, as part of its Centenary International Service Project, has nominated UNICEF Australia as its charity of choice.
UNICEF and Girl Guides share a deep commitment to help and reach out to vulnerable young people around the world, especially those who are most marginalised and exploited and whose rights are too often violated. This commitment is reflected globally in the close relationship between UNICEF and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and the numerous national collaborations between UNICEF country offices and WAGGGS member organisations - including Kenya, Peru, Panama, Thailand, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF advocates for young people’s right to participate, make themselves heard and take action on the things they care about and which affect them. The partnership with Girl Guides Australia highlights UNICEF’s ongoing dedication to achieving this right and highlights the responsibilities we all have to ensure that young people have the opportunity to participate in this way. UNICEF Australia is therefore proud to be involved with the Girl Guides Centenary Celebration in Australia, to provide support and guidance to Girl Guides in making a difference in the lives of others.
The Centenary International service project
The Centenary International Service Project will see Girl Guides throughout Australia using specially created education and activity packs to explore the many issues faced by children and young people worldwide, particularly the issue of equal access to education. The girls will not only learn about these global issues, but will also help UNICEF raise much needed funds to support the development project for girls’ education in Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea has the lowest primary school enrolment rate in the East Asia and Pacific region with almost 85 per cent of the country’s population living in hard to reach, remote highland areas and surrounding islands. For many girls from poor families, education remains a privilege reserved for their brothers and those from wealthier families. UNICEF’s project in PNG promotes girls’ education by improving the current education system to make it safer and more friendly for girls and by raising awareness in the communities on the importance of girls’ education.
Girl guides making a difference
The partnership will aim to raise at least $2 per Girl Guide in support of this UNICEF project. By supporting UNICEF, Girl Guides in Australia can make a big difference for girls in PNG:
- $14.36 – provides 10 children with a sketch pad and set of 8 colouring crayons each
- $21.54 – can buy 28 skipping ropes, promoting physical activity, particularly for girls
- $57.44 – will provide a School-in-a-bag with individual school supplies for 40 students and one teacher. Each student receives a carry bag, ruler, two pencils, exercise book, eraser, sharpener and box of colouring pencils- the basic supplies for a good education
- $86.16 – provides 2 volleyballs and 2 nets, enabling children to participate in team sports
- $280 – is the cost of a school-in-a-box kit – a ready-made educational solution packed in a lockable metal box, containing equipment such as pencils, erasers, exercise books, writing slates, scissors and carrier bags sufficient for 80 pupils, and marker pens, posters, registers, and blackboard equipment for a teacher
Click here to find out more about the Girl Guides Australia Centenary Celebrations
