Thank you for for making BGO incredible.
We are so grateful to all of our members, those who are currently living abroad and past BGO members who have moved back home to the UK. We have all created lasting memories and lifelong friendships that will continue to be with us even after our time with BGO.
Please share with us your memories below so they can live on forever.
What BGO means to us all:
BGO has formed a crucial part of my life since moving overseas. It has provided me with stability, and the opportunity to continue with an organisation that has formed a massive part of my life since the age of 5.
Through BGO, I work on one of the WAGGGS teams, and I have been fortunate to have my first international opportunity: taking some BGO girls to the World Scout Jamboree in Korea 2023, which I am extremely excited for.
Without BGO, I wouldn’t be able to continue volunteering at camps and events, such as helping at a UK based trefoil disabled camp as a carer and Wellies and Wristbands, which I absolutely love doing every year, catching up with the many friends I’ve made over the years at these events.
Thanks BGO.
Brooke
BGIFC gave me the opportunity to continue my guiding adventure when I moved to Sweden. It enabled me to continue to my Queen’s Guide which I had started in the UK.
BGIFC also gave me the chance to visit Our Cabana, co-leading a group of Young Leaders and Rangers from across the U.K. and BGIFC. We met guiding sisters from across the world, made new friendships and learnt new skills. These friendships still exist today and the memories will be cherished forever.
Being part of BGIFC gave me the life skills and confidence to help me live around the world and and an expat career for which I will be forever be grateful.
Kate
Lone Ranger and Leader
Sweden
I love being a Guide with BGO! It is really fun being able to do all the badges and activities in English as I live in France and go to a French school but all my family is British. I also really like meeting online with the other Lone Brownies, Guides and Rangers as we have so much fun and it gives me the chance to do the activities with other girls who, like me, are British but live in different countries. My favourite BGO experience has been the Together 22 camp at Waddow where I made lots of new friends from all over the world and got to make my promise at the campfire.
Abigail Greaney
Lone BGO Brownie and Guide
France
I moved to Singapore when I was 8 and I joined brownies before I was even able to start school there. I stayed with BGO until I moved back to the UK having been a brownie, guide and ranger there. I was able to complete my young leader and my queens guide with BGO and I’ve been honoured to have been a representative for BGO on the Guiding Council. Even now I live in the UK many of the closest friendship have been the ones I made in BGO and they have lasted even now we all live in different countries. I owe so much of who I became to the space BGO gave me to try anything that interested me, and even sometimes things I never thought I would be able to do.
Lily Green
Singapore
BGO has been my home away from home, full of women who raise me up and help me do whatever I put my mind to.
Without BGO, my Guiding leadership journey would look so different! Through BGO I went to the WAGGGS Juliette Low Seminar, participated in WAGGGS conferences, and then started volunteering on the WAGGGS Europe External Relations team!
I’m honoured to be able to help facilitate young women and girls on their leadership journey as the Young Leader Adviser – BGO is full of truly amazing and inspiring young women who are changing the world.
Vicki
Young Leader Adviser
The confidence to actually become a leader! I wouldn’t ever have had the experience in Belgium otherwise, nor would I have continued being a leader when I moved to Ireland, Shetland and Cardiff.
Plus camping! So many brilliant experiences camping in Belgium, the UK, Ireland and Switzerland.
Hannah Gibson
Leader
Belgium
When I moved to Belgium to live with my partner, I wanted something for me. I travelled quite a distance each week, but I did it because I wanted to, and be part of something familiar. I loved the camping, and all the experiences it gave me.
Jane Van Hoof
Leader
Belgium
When I moved abroad, everything in my life changed and it was so overwhelming. I quickly got in touch with BGO to continue my Leadership for Brownies. It was the best thing I did! BGO is so welcoming and such an amazing extension of the GirlGuiding family. It was the consistent GG family that I needed when everything else was changing.
I had the amazing opportunity to re-start a Brownie unit with other leaders in Dubai and we watched it grow overtime. As we started the unit again, we met young members who were also going through a life change and moving to a new country. They were equally pleased to be able to continue with Guiding in their new home and we were able to share our Guiding journey together.
Being a part of BGO has been so important for many of us to keep in touch with the Guiding we sadly left in the UK. We’re be sad that this journey is coming to an end and we hope there will be an opportunity to re-start guiding abroad soon.
Rebecca Matthews
Leader
United Arab Emirates
I had been a Leader in Scotland for over 20 years when I moved out to Bahrain. I made contact with BGIFC as it was then and linked up with the local DC in Bahrain(a long term ex-pat) and lo and behold attended my first Guide meeting within 2 days of landing in Bahrain. The first voice I heard was a Scottish one too, a <br />leader from Carnoustie and also a wonderful Leader from Belgium who was living in Bahrain. The girls came from all parts of the world and found Guiding to be a constant for them as their families moved often . We had great fun, adapting the program to suit the local cultures, and managed to retain the fun and challenges offered by the Girlguiding programme. Ex pat trips home during summer and Christmas would mean one of us got to our local guide shop and filled our suitcases with badges, uniforms etc as required, parents helped as well if returning to UK for any reason. My husband often went with a shopping list to CHQ shop when he returned to London on business. We camped out in a safe compound, had fabulous beach days, beach clean ups, ice rink trips, did badges, learnt about our differences, even provided a Guard of Honour for the Prince of Wales at the British Embassy in Bahrain. Great memories, fun times and so very sad girls living abroad will no longer be able to enjoy this experience. I have since returned to Scotland and remain in touch with the other Leaders I worked with in Bahrain 🇧🇭!
Romana Grant
Leader
GirlGuiding gives everyone the opportunity to learn new things and make new friends but what makes BGO special is the an opportunity for every girl to be included, for them to have a piece of home with them wherever they live.
When I was in BGO it was a common thread that connected me with thousands of other girls all over the world. When we met at our camps there was no barrier between us, we all had camp blankets to compare, song lyrics to share and memories to make.
Elin Howells
Rainbow, Brownie, Guide, Young Leader
Malaysia
Being able to be a Brownie leader through the pandemic and still have girls joining week after week to see what madness the “Owls” had instore for them.
Seeing those girls develop to be amazing individuals.
Rachael Aldus
BGO Chief Commissioner
As a child, I went to brownies in the UK, which formed some of my favourite childhood memories. I was therefore delighted to send my daughter to rainbows and brownies in Luxembourg, as it offered a cultural link to home and connection to family who are involved in girl guides in the UK. The organisation has promoted the empowerment, learning and leadership of young girls, and teaches them such useful life skills and good values, such as resilience, responsibility and kindness, and offers friendship and community not only to the girls, but to parents also. Thank you so much to the leaders and volunteers for all you do!
Laurie Rooney
Parent
Luxembourg
Being part of a family when you are far away from your own.
Having friends to work with and share mad ideas.
Seeing those mad ideas coming to life and girls having an amazing time.
Without BGO and Girlguiding I wouldn’t have settled into my life abroad so easily
Rachael Aldus
BGO Chief Commissioner
My BGO Adventure started in Malaysia, where all three of my daughters flourished with the fantastic leaders there. Two of them are now leaders in the UK. I made lifelong friends and grew from being a unit helper, into a leader, then a Commissioner and now a Trainer and Mentor. I have been lucky to look after the BGO Lones since I returned to the UK, a diverse and fantastic group of girls around the world so dedicated to Guiding they keep going despite their fellow Guiding sisters being far away and establish firm friendships with girls they may never meet face to face. A true example of a global sisterhood.
Fiona Warburton
Leader
I joined BGO nine years ago, with my daughter, in Singapore. I enjoyed it so much I soon started training as a leader. The girls we worked with did everything from abseiling to zoo visits, and everything in between! I even wrote pantomimes and plays for the girls to perform in Singapore St George’s in front of various dignitaries! We did beach cleaning, and connecting with local charities and Singapore Guides at large events.
When we moved to The Netherlands the first thing we did was attend our Guiding meeting here. It’s so important to meet face to face, and continued this wondrous journey in confidence and safety. Both my daughter and myself have made friends across the world, with many returning to the UK and staying in touch for more adventures in the future. Thank you BGO.
Cerys Pretty
District Commissioner
Netherlands
For me – BGO has been amazing for my daughter. Here is an excerpt of my email to the leaders which I think says it all.
‘I just wanted to say thank you for this initiative [raising money for charity by selling special Maytime badges which are very popular here in Sweden]. Anna struggles to speak when she meets strangers and this was, I think, one of her biggest challenges!
After a scary start, she started to feel comfortable with Daddy doing the talking and Anna holding the bag. By the end, she was confident to make eye contact with strangers and answer their questions and join in with conversations. She even smiled!
Each time she saw how much she was raising, she felt motivated to sell more. For the last few badges, she initiated the sales, choosing the people to talk to.
It was a very special day for Anna. She felt very proud of herself and I felt so proud watching my little girl overcome some of her biggest barriers and fears.
We can’t thank you enough.’
Jo
Rainbow Parent
Sweden
I used to say I would be happy to chat to 100 kids – but just a few adults scared me!
Working for my training qualification with BGO changed all that.
Now I can happily enter a room full of leaders and feel confident and in control.
Lynne Armitage
Deputy Chief Commissioner BGO
I started Rainbows when I was 5 when I lived in England. I continued on to do Brownies in England before moving to Germany when I was Guide age. I attended an International school where I joined the school Guide unit, which my Mom took over a year after I started. I then moved up to Rangers, where I learned that I was the first ever Ranger at our unit. I am now a Young Leader with a unit in the UK.
Guiding has taught me so many life skills. Attending meetings allowed me to make new friends and meet new people from all around the world, however, the highlight of Guiding for me will always be being able to go on Camp. We have had so many Camp themes over the years including Glamping, Star Wars and The Hunger Games.
Francesca Rhodes
Young Leader
Germany
Moving a broad is not always a personal choise and this is especially true for children following their parents overseas for work or other reasons.
Although this is a great adventure it is also a challenge and girl guiding provides a link to our home country. This was true for me when my parents sat my sisters and I down to tell us that we would be moving back to France for my father’s work. I had just started Brownies in Bristol and loved it and so my answer was “yes that’s fine as long as I can continue Brownies!”
This became a reality as my mother and other ladies started the 1st Toulouse Brownie unit over 30 years ago. It was great and I loved catching up with other English speaking friends and had a great time. I moved on to Scouts and continued up to Explorers.
My mother however continued in the Girl guiding community taking on many roles she is now a Rainbow helper and my 2 eldest girls have loved the special time with granny going to the rainbow meetings and again having fun with other English speaking girls. Unfortunately my youngest won’t have this special experience.
Girl guiding isn’t only important for the kids but also amongst the volunteer leaders that forge important friendships that can be so important in an expat community. This is just my little experience of the large world wide BGO community but as you can see on this page there are a lot more stories of how important BGO has been in leaders and children’s lives.
Clare Blanc
Parent
France
As a scout from Sweden 🇸🇪 I ended up qualifying to be a Brownie leader in BGO 2018. My BGO experience was as parent as well. Camps. Thinking Day, outings, regular meetings in our school etc. “They said it was just 1 hour a week”, turned into so much more -a whole world of different connections! Girls/ Leaders/Parents from Australia/Bulgaria/Uk/Ireland etc. When Covid hit and all the distance meetings were arranged so we as a family could join in from a distance in the challanges for the queen’s jubilee badge.
We are saddened as a family to hear that BGO will end.
Asa Larsson
Leader and parent
United Arab Emirates