ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Girl Guides Association National Headquarters is organizing the 12th All Pakistan Camp for Girl Guides in Islamabad from 22 to 28 October 2023. The theme of the camp is “Building Resilience”.
280 Guides and Leaders from the far-flung areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Baluchistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan, and Islamabad Capital Territory participated in the camp. The areas included Quetta, Gilgit, Skardu, Ghizer, Hunza, Chitral, Sibi, Turbat, Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, SukkurSargodha, Gujranwala, Sheikupura, Wah Cannt, Muzaffarabad, Lahore, Multan, Vehari, Attock, Mirpur, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad.
According to organizers, it will be a lifetime experience for girls to live in tents for five days. Camping and outdoor programme activities provide an experience of adventure, teamwork opportunities, confidence building, challenge, and fun to the girls. At camp, girls make choices and meet challenges in a structured, supportive, supervised environment. Camp experiences are opportunities to practice problem-solving, an important developmental skill.
The camp was formally opened by UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil on 23 October. National Commissioner Pakistan Girl Guides Association Maria Maud Sabri welcomed the guests and Guides and informed them about the Program of the Camp.
Camp’s Goals
Maria said that this year’s camp attempts to respond to the environmental catastrophes that the country has faced with its theme of Building Resilience. Our program is three-fold: we start with physical resilience, where Guides focus on prioritizing health in their lifestyles. Secondly, we work on their emotional resilience by helping them identify their emotions and deal with stress.
The camp’s final resilience goal is to help them understand online safety, substance abuse, personal safety, and self-defense. Finally, community resilience is being developed by imparting skills that are useful in emergencies and dealing with problems threatening the environment, such as the menace of plastic waste.
Speaking on the occasion, Abdullah Fadil congratulated the Pakistan Girl Guides Association and all Guides and members for organizing the camp.
He said that Adolescent girls around the world are calling for their voices to be heard, their aspirations supported, and their rights met. Yet, girls in almost every context face many barriers to accessing the information, services, and support they need to achieve these goals. These constraints deny them the ability to make informed decisions and choices for themselves, to care for their health, and to be treated as equals. Adolescent girls continue to face greater dangers of sexual violence and its wide-ranging consequences.
