...a good friend and sister to all Guides.

Despite the fact that this blog has taken longer than planned, this post has fallen at a really good time. In two weeks it will be Thinking Day (22nd February). This is a time when members of the Guiding movement around the world remember that they are part of a global network. Money is often raised to help less advantaged Guides, and donated to the Friendship Fund: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get_involved/support_us/girlguiding_uk_funds/guide_friendship_fund.aspx

So that's the world view. But what about closer to home? For one thing, to take this Law literally, it means we have to make sure that we treat every other girl and woman as if they are a Guide. Unless we are in uniform, there's pretty much no way to tell who's a Guide and who isn't. When the Law was first written, members of the movement very often wore their Promise badges in public, but that's much rarer. So that means that we should treat other girls and women with respect, friendship, and kindness. We also have to be prepared to help those in need.

So those are the high ideals. Really, we shouldn't be so specific about treating Guides with this level of deference and excluding Scouts, and men and boys generally. However, this Law is a really good tool if you happen to be a Guide Leader whose Guides have problematic behaviour. It's a message to which you can point to say to the girls, "You promised to behave well towards your fellow Guides". It can also be a starting point when thinking about issues like bullying or friendship generally.

So how do I try to be a good friend and sister to all Guides? At the moment my actions are quite limited. I run a Unit to the best of my abilities and try to provide an engaging, safe, supportive space for my girls, young leaders, and fellow leaders. I try to give them as many opportunities as I can. I try to make them aware of the difficulties other Units in the UK and abroad face, financially and practically. There's always more that can be done.