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:
Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers, I did them all as a proud member of BGO. Running my patrol camp for the permit was an absolute highlight of my guiding experience. It gave me the confidence and leadership skills that I use in all aspects of my life. Now as a Young Leader I want to continue to help young girls develop the same values.
BGO has been my life, my home for as long as I can remember.
Lynsey
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
I don’t think I quite have the words to explain / describe what BGO (or BGIFC as it was for me) means to me and how proud I am to have had the privilege to wear the galleon – a badge that still holds a special place in my heart.
BGIFC gave me stability and a sense of home and familiarity as a child travelling with parents and attending boarding school. Without BGIFC my mother would never have met an amazing lady who was Guiding in Avon and Somerset who without a second thought took me in to her family and became my legal guardian.
As an adult leader whilst on international trips with my Guides and Rangers we have always arranged to meet with BGO girls and run joint activities to show our girls and the BGO girls that where ever they are GGUK is there with them and should they find themselves travelling there is always a home with BGO.
It broke my heart when I read the announcement yesterday, it was almost like loosing part of my family.
Katherine
Former BGIFC Brownie and Guide and daughter of a BGIFC adult leader and commissioner
Katherine Hancock
Brownie andGuide
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
To me BGO means a fun way to make a lot of friends and to celebrate our achievements. When I got my promise badge I got very excited and filled with pride because I was the first in Estoril to make my promise. To me BGO is like a second family.
Emily
1st Estoril Brownies
Portugal
I never openly talked about the low point I was in after my son was born in 2016. Moving 3,500 miles away from family and established friends while pregnant and then having a newborn while isolated from that support was incredibly hard. But one of the things that pulled me out of that low point was my older daughter and I joining Girlguiding. I became a Brownie leader while my daughter joined Rainbows and despite being American without previous connection to the British Guiding system, we were welcomed and supported.
Thank you BGO for opening your arms and your hearts to our family.
Samantha Furbush Taraskiewicz
Leader & Parent
Luxembourg
As an international student in 2001/2002 I made the train journey every Friday from Utrecht to Voorschoten outside The Hague to the BGIFC guide unit. The girls and other leaders welcomed me. When I went to uni in Wales I made sure to continue my Guiding, and when I went to the Netherlands, there had never been any doubt in my mind that I would continue as a member of BGIFC. At the end of my year we went on camp and I was their caterer. I was also able to continue my role on the Innovate Planning Team for Girlguiding UK. It was a special time and I certainly think that it was just that bit of normalcy that I needed as an international student.
Alison Crozier
Leader
Netherlands
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
When I moved to teach in Bucharest, Romania, I introduced Girlguiding to the school. My fulfilment and purpose were enhanced beyond the classroom. My relationships with girls, parents and staff was deepened and I have received valued support when undertaking training and coordinating the units. Indeed, such friendships have sustained me when living abroad.
Alongside the girls, I have learned and grown through everyday and extraordinary experiences. Most notably, holding online events, spending a sleepover and also an overnight camp with Rainbows, supporting girls in England at BGO camps, attending the Pageant to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and meeting people who were willing to support the girls.
Rachel Eglinton
Coordinator & unit leader
Romania
I was a Brownie leader in the UK and, when I moved abroad to work, I thought that my time as a leader was over. BGO changed that. I was welcomed into the BGO family to reopen a Brownie unit in KL which has given the girls an opportunity to thrive using the Girl Guiding programme.
BGO also gave me my proudest guiding moment when my own daughter made her own Brownie promise to me this year
Vickie
Leader
Malaysia
Being able to continue Girlguiding when I moved abroad was so important to me and has been so important to the many girls and leaders that I have met over the 20 years I have been a leader in Belgium.
Running virtual events across time zones from the Caribbean to the Far East is challenging. With girls joining workshops living in so many countries and all have an amazing time it has been so rewarding and so much fun for everyone.
Near and far BGO is such a special Region, connecting people far from home and giving them opportunities and friendship.
Emma Nalson
Leader
Belgium
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
Brownies at Tanglin Trust School was our first port of call when we arrived in Singapore in 2010. I attended as a parent helper each week, just as I had in UK. It gave us a sense of continuity and security at a time where homes and friendships have been left behind and new ones have yet to form.
I subsequently became a Guide leader, had adventures and made friends and memories.
I saw how valuable a girl only environment is for developing confidence and trying new things. Girls may come to camp unable to strike a match and leave being able to safely and confidently build a fire pit and cook their own supper. There is something for everyone, it’s inclusive and non competitive, a refreshing pit stop in each girl’s week.
The strength of BGO is in the people and I will be forever grateful for the memories and the girls, volunteers and parents I have met
Jackie Green
Leader
Singapore
3 years as a girl member in Germany
38 years as a Leader in Cyprus.
41 years of fun, friendship and learning. Camps near the beach, camps in the rain. Trips with the Rangers to Our Chalet and Our Cabaña. Bringing the girls to camp in the UK – for the Centenary, for BGIFC/BGO Events, for Unit camps. Crafts and games and explorations. Meeting people from so many different places. And throughout, feeling grounded, feeling connected. Thanks, BGO – 41 great years and some of the best times of my life.
JOSEPHINE SMITH
Girl Member, Leader, Commissioner, Trainer
Cyprus
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
British Girlguiding Overseas to me means feeling like I belong to a group of friends that will always be behind me. Meeting the guides, rangers and leaders every week means having fun and building memories that will last a lifetime.
Mabli Ball
Guide
United Arab Emirates
Leaving my Rainbow unit in Bridgend was tough and moving my family to Dubai was also tough. But knowing my Girlguiding family would be there for us when we arrived was our safe place. I spent weeks talking to BGO online before we moved to Dubai. These ladies were there for us with open arms and made the transition seamless. We were so lucky to meet such a friendly, warm bunch of people who gave us so much support and advice when we moved here. BGO is more than guiding, it is a community of kindred spirits that thrive on giving girls fantastic experiences, fun, laughs and learning opportunities. Having been in guiding since I was 9 means we are really will have a hole in our hearts when this support network closes. Well done BGO for your success in the last 100+ years. I hope you can sail again in the future.
Melissa Bevan
Leader, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Parent and Young Leader
United Arab Emirates
I joined brownies in the uk when I was 7yrs which I loved! Working towards Badges, making new friends, day trips and of course camp I loved it all. When we move to Germany I was so excited I could continue with brownies through the BGO it gave me the chance to mix in an English speaking environment because moving to a different country at the age of 8 is very scary. I am so devastated the uk girl guiding are doing this and I am not going to be able to continue my brownie journey or move onto guides when im older! ☹️
Chloe Golden
Brownie
Germany
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 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
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next »