Mind the Doors

In the middle of our action planning session today, Lyndsey, the other half of the UK delegation, popped back to our room to get her i-pad.  She hadn’t reappeared after nearly half an hour, and I was wondering where she had got to.  I went back to the room.  The bathroom door was locked.  Here is what ensued –

                “Are you ok Lyndsey?”

                “Yes.  But I’m stuck in the toilet.  The lock has broken.”

I dashed to reception to ask for help.  It is only now, having analysed the conversation with my fellow delegates this evening, that I understand the confusion which arose.  I used to be quite good at French, but now I am a bit rusty.  I can do the basics, but need to improve.  The hotel staff were slow in coming to Lyndsey’s rescue, but I realise now that this was because I said ‘my friend Lyndsey is hiding in the toilet”, rather than “my friend Lyndsey is stuck in the toilet”.  Once I had established that help was required, three men came, with batons of varying sizes, and proceeded to hack chunks of the bathroom door to facilitate Lyndsey’s eventual freedom.  It transpired that a fourth man, who had the key which would have opened the lock from the outside, had “gone”.  I’m not clear if he had gone off-site momentarily, left for the day, left his employment here some time ago, or died.  Either way, he wasn’t around.    

It is very late now and I have to sleep for a bit, but will continue this later, so I hope you don’t mind waiting a few more hours for the remainder of today's instalment…. Goodnight.

Half the Sky

I don't like it when people claim that they 'don't know where to start' when trying to explain something.  I always think - 'well, don't start then, wait until you know where'.  But right now, that's how I feel.  I want to write everything, every detail about our day in Rwanda today, but at the same time I don't want to write anything, because I am still processing everything which we have done today.  Bear with me through my ramblings, there is a lot to say. 

We awoke very early and bundled into waiting minibuses to transport us to Rukira, a community in the Eastern region of Rwanda, close to the Tanzanian border.  Rukira is an example of a successful partnership between a WAGGGS organisation and a community.  It is a community of 108 women and girls who have been affected by violence.  (I'm going to call it AGR from now on, which stands for Association du Guides Rwanda).  AGR has worked in partnership with the people of Rukira.  It was profoundly affected by the genocide in 1994; many women have been affected by violence, HIV is prevalent; many women have been raped; many have no right to inheritance.  

We arrived to a glorious display of singing and dancing by the local Guides.  We were ushered underneath huge marquees, with a huge group of Guides clad in their white Stop the Violence t-shirts, which are the same as our black Stop the Violence t-shirts.  The entire community joined with us, forming a huge circle around a centre stage.  We heard two extremely moving testimonies, one from a woman and one from a girl, both of whom had been affected by violence.  I am not going to write the details of their testimonies, as that is not appropriate.  But I will tell you this - they both spoke extremely powerfully about how their lives had been blighted by acute violence.  The strength which these women displayed, as they talked about their experiences, was incredible.  They have been through things which you cannot imagine.  They are able to stand up and give their testimonies because of the way in which AGR has worked with them to empower them, enabling them to move on from their tragic experiences.  They both spoke of how grateful they are to AGR for providing them with counselling, teaching them about family law and giving them hope for the future.  

A series of lengthy speeches followed, as is characteristic of African village events.  The representative of the District, who is in charge of social affairs, spoke, as did the Governor of the Province.  They spoke of the how the AGR have helped to bring skills to the women, trained them in life skills.  Women are very vulnerable in this society, but AGR have enabled them to be empowered, to stand-up, to  say  no, and to have more self respect. 

There was a moving presentation by the local Guides in Rukira; they presented the Guiding light to WAGGGS, by presenting Gabriela, the Chair of the World Board, with a candle, representing the light of WAGGGS which they have received and are passing it on to the rest of the world.  Gabriela then made a beautiful response, which was very apt. She said that she had felt pain in her heart and tears in her eyes, listening to the testimonies.  Where Guides find injustice, pain and hate, it is our duty to provide commitment, love and mission.  Knowledge, education and intentions is not enough - we need to learn and grow. 

Here in Rwanda, we have seen real, tangible work; a positive partnership between an MO and a community, which has resulted in great success.  This is a great model for us and other MOs to follow.  We need to be outward-focussed in our thinking, to look at where the need is, then to partner with organisations which are working in the areas where our principles guide us. 

I wonder what you are thinking reading this.  We all get so bogged down in our issues, but the testimonies I have heard tonight put things into a whole new perspective.  Everyone has things going on, in their lives, work, family etc., but compare that to the stories we have heard today, and things feel  different.  Think about it.  Watch Hotel Rwanda.  Watch 'Shake Hands with the Devil'.  I have seen both of these - the latter is from a very different perspective, and explores the UN commander who was there during the genocide, going back to Rwanda years later; it is very powerful.  There is also a book you should read, but to my shame, I've forgotten the title, but I will post it once I remember; this book highlights one woman's story through the genocide and testifies to the strength of her faith.  And if you don't have a faith, or don't identify with a particular faith, you might be dubious.  Trust me - read the book, once I've remembered the title.  It doesn't matter where you are on the whole faith spectrum, it will challenge you.  It's short - you can read it in a few days, maybe three commutes.

Anyway, back to today.  Today was a huge community experience, and there is likely to be renewed interest in joining AGR, considering the huge numbers of people who attended the event earlier.

The feedback session afterwards was interesting.

On our return, we started a session on campaigning and action planning, which involved looking at posters for various campaigns and deciding how effective we thought they were.  In groups, we planned our own advocacy campaign, using a 3-pronged approach: educate; take action; advocate.  Our campaign was on 'dating violence'.  This is not a cheerful subject.  Nothing to do with 'violence against girls' is cheerful.  Fact.  

My patrol, which is called 'Queen of the Night' (which is a flower, not a prostitute), was responsible for writing the WAGGGS blog today, which you can find here, if you are interested.  Each day, a patrol is given different responsibilities, be it running reflections in the morning, conducting evaluations in the evening, writing the WAGGGS blog or making a video clip, which will be available sometime soon. 

So - what have we learnt?

Partnerships are the way forward.  WAGGGS MOs need to link up with orgs working in particular areas of interest, to form effective partnerships and effect change.  I said this at the beginning, but I'll say it again - WAGGGS is a hugely powerful body, with 10 million members, across 145 countries.  If you are female, you may well be one of those 10 million, and if you're not, well, if I'm honest, you're missing out.  You know where I am.

Goodnight all. 

p.s. Women hold up half the sky. 

The Rabbit Dichotomy

I know what you're thinking - why on earth has she called it that? Bear with me. 

We spent part of the day today at the headquarters of the Guides du Rwanda, learning about the fantastic work which they do in the community.  We had a tour of their beautiful centre, which is a community building which includes an IT suite, a room for HIV testing, counselling rooms; they also give out contraceptives.  The building is open to the whole community, up to the age of 25.  What a great example of Guiding meeting the needs of the local community.  This is something which Guides du Rwanda are well-known for, building partnerships within the community and really meeting the needs which are there.  Tomorrow we are travelling all the way to the Tanzanian border to visit Rukira, for a 'community immersion' experience, where we will learn about how Guides du Rwanda have partnered with this community.  More on that story later.

We were greeted by a spectacular display of singing from local Brownies and Guides, all dressed so smartly, in their formal attire.  As we processed in, a Brownie took us each by the hand, whilst we paraded between a guard of honour from the Guides.  It was beautiful.  There was a chorus of singing from more local members, who had been given time off school to welcome us. We had a wonderful afternoon having a tour of the premises, meeting with the Guides, buying souvenirs and chatting with the Guides.  I spent some time with the teenage Guides, as one of them had drawn a cartoon strip of a man who is a perpetrator of violence against his wife, his children, and his girlfriend.  The whole things was written in Kinyarwanda, the local language, but the girl who designed it talked me through the whole thing, in English and French.  I have been speaking a lot of French here, as Rwanda was francophone until quite recently, and there are a lot of Leaders here from francophone countries - Cote d'Ivoire, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Burkina Faso, Burundi.  My French is ok, but I'm not very good at translating, as Betty from DRC informed me earlier when she pointed at a Rwandan guide and said 'elle est mieux', which means 'she is better'.  Fair point.

There was a huge rainstorm at the Rwanda Guide HQ recently, which wrecked the hall.  Thanks to various bodies, including Africa Region, the Fifth World Centre pilot and... the Trefoil Guild of... the UK, it is being redone.  It is a huge hall, equipped to host all sorts of community events.  This is true Guiding in the community.

So, the rabbit.  There were a series of stalls manned by local Guides and Scouts.  One of them had a sign which said 'lapin'.  This means 'rabbit'.  There were two very small cardboard boxes on the table, both of which contained a white rabbit.  I started chatting to the Guide Leaders, about the rabbit, such as the name, the age etc.  I asked if I could cuddle it, as I haven't cuddled a rabbit for some time.  The Leader nodded, then she scooped up the rabbit.  By the ears.  I couldn't quite believe it.  I insisted she put it back in the box as there was no way I was taking it by the ears.  This made me think.  Can you imagine picking up a rabbit at home by the ears? I can't.  Maybe you can.  I chatted to them and it transpired that the rabbit was set to become a meal in the fairly near future.  Hence not giving it a name.  Someone suggested that one could be called 'lunch' and the other 'dinner'.  But this made me think a lot about culture.  Here, if you need to pick up a rabbit, you pick it up by the ears.  At home, if you picked up a rabbit by the ears, you would probably be arrested.  Where am I going with this? There are acute differences within the cultures which we represent, even here at this event.  Transpose this onto the wider context, and it brings up all sorts of issues around cultural acceptance and understanding.  Think beyond the rabbit.  

Ok, moving back, we spent some time today working through the STV toolkit, as well as thinking of the issues associated with resourcing our project, thinking about the volunteers and staff available, funding, getting the message out, social media, like Twitter and Facebook.  I didn't used to be on Facebook, then I realised I didn't have any friends.  And Twitter - well, I came late to that, but now realise it is extremely useful for soundbites, links, and rhyming quips.  Social media is extremely useful for campaigning, and for raising awareness.

We had a free night tonight, so I ran a comedy improvisation workshop for anyone who wanted to attend.  In the last month, I have run comedy improvisation workshops at two World Centres of Guiding - Our Cabana and the Fifth World Centre.  If you want some light relief from this blog, you could read my Mexico blog.  Comedy impro is so much fun, and can be used in so many situations.  Sarah from Canada kindly translated my workshop into French, which added to the entertainment as often impro doesn't make much sense in English, so translating it is an interesting concept.  We had great fun playing a series of impro games, with new friends from Pakistan, Rwanda, Ireland, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Greece, DRC, Burundi, UK, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso.  Good  times.

Ok I'll leave it there for tonight - we have to be up early to leave at 7am to travel to Rukira, so I will say farewell. Do write comments, if the mood takes you, and share this with your friends.  

This is an incredible project to be part of.  We are making history by piloting the Fifth World Centre of Guiding.   Very exciting stuff.  Goodnight. 


 

Gorillas and genocide

What a day.   The day opened with presentations from an expert panel who work on gender-based violence (GBV) here in Rwanda.  One presentation was by Isange One Stop Centre, which we are going to visit on Saturday, so I’ll write more in detail about that then, when I have visited.  Their mission is to provide timely, affordable, quality services to those affected by GBV.  The support they provide includes psychosocial, medical and legal support. 

We then heard from a representative from UNFPA, on behalf of OneUN, which is a group of UN organisations working here – UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women.  There is an acute need for a multi-sector approach, due to the complicated mixture of issues which exist because of the recent history, combined with the subordinate position of women in society.

Consider this information from the 2010 Demographic Heath Survey:

·         By the time they are 15, 2/5 of women have experienced physical violence and 1/5 have experienced sexual violence

·         Almost half of women age 15-49 age have experienced physical or sexual violence

·         Almost 56% of women believe that their husband is justified in beating them

·         Most people who seek help are under 18

This country is fascinating.  But let’s think about this.  How much do you know about Rwanda? Most people associate it with two things.  Gorillas.  And genocide.  Before you ask, no, I have no plans to go and visit the gorillas – why would I want to do that? They are unlikely to come and visit me, so I am not going to visit them.  I’m sure they will cope.

The world hadn’t heard of Rwanda in 1993.  It was a tiny, unknown country, somewhere in Africa.  Then in 1994, one million people died in 10 days.  Genocide.  You’ve probably seen the film – go and see it if you haven’t - Hotel Rwanda.  The hotel where that happened is called Hotel Mille Collines, and is near here. We are  going to the Genocide Memorial Museum on Saturday.  We have been advised that this is optional, and we don’t have to go,  as it will be harrowing.  To me, it’s something which should be done.  Those horrific events are Rwanda’s very recent history – this happened less than 20 years ago – probably within your lifetime.  Every person in this country was affected.  Humanity can be deadly.

Rape was used as a weapon of war during the genocide, and it is still used as a weapon of war in conflicts elsewhere in the world today.  In a conflict situation,  it is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier.

We spent a session in the afternoon looking at myths and realities associated with violence against girls.  This brought up lots of interesting discussions.  We talked a lot about self-esteem and self-perception; people taking advantage; consent within a relationship; the sexualisation of girls in society.  We considered media reporting, and the bias which is prevalent in the reporting of VAWG situations.  Often the media blames the victim, considering the ramifications on the community, rather than the impact on the individual.  We considered language which is appropriate and not appropriate to use when reporting on situations of violence.  There is no excuse for violence against women and girls.  Culture cannot be used as an excuse – FGM is abuse. 

This was a heavy and complex session.  The subject material is difficult and not nice.  But that is why we are here – to consider all this, and to consider how we can go home and deliver the Voices Against Violence programme in our MOs.  We  are the mouthpieces for out MOs and it’s up to us to take back the learning we are gaining here.  It is a privilege  to  be having such discussions in such  a vibrant and diverse environment.  A lot of thought is given to the setting.  The facilitators always set a ‘safe space’ at the beginning of the session, so it is a safe place for discussions, and no obligation to participate.

The next session was on ‘solutions’.  We looked at a typical community and the buildings within it, then considered what ought to be a safe place, and which places we did not consider to be safe.  Each session, we are in mixed groups, always with at least 3 Regions represented.  It really is fascinating to hear of the situations in countries very  different to the UK. 

Solutions have seven points: support, protection. prevention, empowerment, money, data, organisation.   This is what will form the action plan for the project which we are going to develop when we return home, in partnership with existing Stop The Violence initiatives which our organisation is engaging with.

We spent the afternoon working our way throught the STV toolkit, looking at all the components which have to be considered when running any STV project. 

The subject matter we are dealing with is very serious, there's no other way to describe it.  It is so important to roll out this training in the UK, as the stats there are staggering (see my first blog post a few  days ago) - even in a relatively developed society, there are widespread misconceptions about VAWG and such a need for it to  be less of a taboo subject.  The training we are receiving here will equip us to do this, to reach our members who are being, or know people who are being affected by violence.  And violence comes in so many forms. 

The day ended with our International Evening, where we made a display of resources from our countries, swapped badges, sang songs, some wore national dress.  We danced, we sang, we joked, we laughed, we took photos, and we enjoyed spending some  time together, just being, having spent an intensive day talking about violence.

It's late now, and we have another intensive day tomorrow - more violence sessions, then a visit to Guides du Rwanda HQ, in Central Kigali.

I am having a very meaningful time here.  There is a lot more I could tell you about the various sessions, but I'll leave it there for now and continue tomorrow.

I sat outside for a bit tonight, soaking up the sounds of Africa - tinny music in the bar nearby, chirruping cicadas, buzzing mosquitoes (I'm confusing them with a healthy mixture of Deet and Clinique Happy, both of which I purchased in Wilkinson's in Woolwich, shortly after being mistaken for a member of staff  by a hapless shopper last week, as I was in my Guide Leader clothing.  To be fair, I was able to direct the customer to the ant powder he required, as I spend a disproportionate amount of time in that shop).

Night all.

We are ten million voices singing

Who knows that song? Anyone who was at the Girls' World Forum last year or at Our Cabana a month ago will know it.  It is a beautiful song.  It starts with one person singing 'I am one voice and I am singing.... I am not alone', then it gradually builds up: I am 10 voices, I am one-hundred voices, all the way to 10 million voices.  It's important to set the parameters, otherwise it can last for up to a week. 

We sang this song as part of the reflection which my patrol ran this morning.  We also handed out post-it notes in appropriate shapes, and asked everyone to write something which they are going to bring to this fascinating  week.  We taught, then sang the song (you'll see a photo if we're friends on Facebook), and as we moved through the verses, participants came forward in patrols, and stuck their post-it notes onto a giant arrow, drawn by Celeste, our resident artist, all the way from Bolivia. 

I saw Pip's comment about where we're staying, so I'll answer that before telling you about today.  Anyone who has stayed at one of the world centres - Pax Lodge (UK), Our Chalet (Switzerland), Sangam (India) or Our Cabana (Mexico), will know that they are very definitely a physical place, made up of all sorts of special components which epitomise Guiding and what it is all about.  At the 32nd World Conference, it was resolved to establish a fifth World Centre in Africa.  The idea of this Fifth World Centre is that it is not a specific place  of bricks and mortar, instead, it is a gathering of like-minded people, meeting together to learn, to share, to grow.  The idea is that it moves between different places, be they exisiting training centres, or regular places to stay.  This event is being held at the Nobleza Hotel in Kigali.  Some of us are staying here, and others are staying in another hotel just down the road.  We are all staying in twin rooms, sharing with another participant.  I am sharing with Lyndsey, the other participant from the UK.  The hotel is fine, apart from a lack of water in the shower (!) - TIA.

It is important to  have a World Centre in Africa for several reasons; there is no World Centre in the Africa Region, Africa is important in the history of Guiding,  and there is a need to increase access to opportunities for the many members of the 21 countries in Africa which are part of WAGGGS.  African Guiding has seen huge growth over the past  few years, so it is only right that there should be a World Centre here, and the idea of it being the setting for an extremely important seminar, makes it an ideal situation.  You can read more about the details about the Fifth World Centre pilot here.

So, what did we do today? After our spectacular opening reflection, we moved straight into a session to put this seminar into context.  I still can't quite believe that I am at this incredible event, in Rwanda, this beautiful and lush place.  The climate is great - there was some welcome rain earlier, a blessing in the heat of the day.  Guides du Rwanda is thriving and they have worked extremely hard to make this event happen.  It is a privilege to be part of it, meeting participants from MOs across the world, and talking about how we can bring about change.  We are 10 million voices singing.

WAGGGS' vision is to empower all girls and young women to take action to change the world.  Stop The Violence is the latest campaign, and is the only campaign to focus on violence against girls and young women.  Many campaigns focus on violence against women, but there are specific issues associated with girls, and that is why we are here, to be agents of change in our own organisations.  We are all associated with organisations full of girls and young women, and we have an opportunity to work with them to enable them to stand up and make their voices heard.

Membership development, coupled with developing leaders and trainers is key to all of our organisations, which is something we discussed this morning.  It really is a privilege to work with girls and young women in Guiding, and if you're not involved, then get involved! It doesn't have to take over your life - we always need volunteers to help with admin, fundraising, accounts etc. - if you are not doing any volunteering, think about it.  It can fit into your life if you want it to.  Make time. 

Anyway. 

We then had the official opening ceremony, where all sorts of dignitaries joined us, including a representative of the Minister for Gender, The Minister for Young People, The Minister for Sports and Culture, a local Mayor, the Chief Commissioner of Rwanda, a representative from UNone (UNFPA), the Funding Director for WAGGGS and many others. The moving event included the Rwanda Guide song, energetic entertainment from a local music and dance troupe, a drama by some very small Brownies and a number of meaningful speeches about the relevance of this landmark event.

The Africa Director for WAGGGS, Alphonsine Kabagabo, (who I first met in Belsize Park in 2006 at a meeting about LaSER's South Africa Centenary project) (I just wrote Belize instead of Belsize - beware as they are quite different), spoke, saying that she felt privileged to be a part of Guides du Rwanda. She explained how young women have been involved in organising the logistics of these events and how they are preparing to take the campaign out into the rural areas where girls are particularly affected by violence.

The UN rep who officially opened the seminar said this - 'Violence against women and girls is preventable if everyone is concerned. We will improve gender equality initiatives to prevent gender-based violence. We will fight gender-based violence'. There is a long way to go, and major challenges ahead.

We moved onto a session called Violence and Gender, led by Andrea, the Stop The Violence specialist at WAGGGS.  She explained the background to the campaign.  6 out of 10 girls and young women will experience violence.  This is wrong.  A major consultation was carried out, asking girls and young women what they felt strongly about, and they said 'violence against women and girls'.  So couple this with the statistics, and that summarises the need for the Stop The Violence campaign, which you can read more about here.  Why not add your voice?  National and community campaigns will be launched in 55 countries, by 2015.  In attending this seminar, we are being trained on the Activate programme, meaning that we will be able to deliver the Voices Against Violence programme when we return home to our Member Organisations. 

The Voices Against Violence programe has been piloted and has six stages: start, think, identify, support, speak out, take action.  It can be used with the different age-groups in Guiding, and has been written in age-specific categories to enable appropriate delivery.  You can start having conversations with 'younger years' children about these types of issues.  Brownie-age children can understand the concepts of identity, friendship, feelings and emotions.  They often make very astute comments - which is why they are such an engaging age-group to work with. 

So congratulations if you've made it this far as I'm conscious I'm writing a lot.  But there is so much to say, and I want to share it with you.  So bear with me a bit longer...

In our patrols, we looked at definitions of violence, then compared ours with the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  We learnt about six of the main types of violence against girls and young women, which range from dating violence, to FGM. 

Read these staggering facts:
- at least 60  million girls are 'missing' from populations due to female infanticide
- worldwide, 140 million girls and young women have experienced FGM
- in the 1994 genocide here in Rwanda (less than 20 years ago), between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped.  Do you know how many convictions there have been for sexual violence? Guess.  8.  (and no, that's not a typo.  Eight.)

We explored the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls, which are many.  I could write a whole separate blog post about them, which I will do at a later date.

The big factor is gender inequality.  Sometimes girls and women accept the treatment they receive, without realising that it may be abusive.  We watched a video from the UK Home Office, see www.thisisabuse.direct.gov.uk and there are various videos. Worldwide, girls and young women are less likely to be able to access support if they are used to being treated differently because they are female. 

We looked at a series of advertisements, all of which sexualise women and children, yet these have all appeared in mainstream media in various parts of the world.  The objectification of women is wrong.  Hence Girlguiding recently signing up to the No More Page 3 campaign. 

We then started to share the information we have compiled as part of our 'pre-task', where we have studied the VAWG situation in our own countries.  One of the girls said to me, when I started going through my information, 'how can there be violence in UK? It is a developed country?'

Leave your carrier bags at home

Why on earth is she calling it that? Carrier bags are illegal in Rwanda, so I made sure that I ditched mine at Doha.  It seems a strange thing to outlaw, but seeing how clean and tidy the streets are here, it makes sense.   So if you come here at some point in the future, don't bring any carrier bags. 

I have travelled a long way since my last blog, when I sat at blogging and catching up with Guiding admin overnight at Doha International Airport, whilst sipping Pepsi.  It got light very quickly – it was as though 5am came and God switched the lights on in the Middle East.  Doha International Airport is absolutely vast – it is a complete miracle how my bag made it from London to Kigali, via Doha, not forgetting a short stop in Entebbe (Uganda).  A bus took me to the Kigali plane, and we passed hundreds of other Qatar Airways flights bound for a myriad of international destinations.  I slept almost the entire way, waking only for breakfast.  I read through all the information I had received about the conference, to have it fresh in my mind.  I started to read my time management book, but ran out of time to continue.  We touched down briefly in Entebbe, Uganda's international airport.  I caught a glimpse of lush, green Uganda, where I spent a semester studying, back in 2004.

The satisfied clunk of the wheels onto the Kigali tarmac meant that I was finally in Rwanda.  Welcome to Africa.  Welcome back to Africa.  This place is somewhere else.  Africa grows on you like nowhere else.  I first came to Africa in 2002, as a naive 19-year-old, eager to explore this curious place.  I spent time doing the gap-year thing - teaching children (English and French), then travelled, mostly alone, but often with people I met along the way, all the way around Ghana, then around West Africa and all the way up to Timbuktu.  Since then, I have been to different parts of Africa on various projects - often travelling a bit afterwards.  I have nearly been to Rwanda on two occasions, but this time I have actually made it, and it feels right.

On the plane,  I met the members of various delegations from Australia, Japan and Pakistan, and we arrived like a mini-contingent from Doha, to be greeted by the awaiting welcome team.  We bundled into the cars and headed for the hotel.  The streets of Kigali are clean, fresh, organised.  The 'motos' (motorcycle taxis) awaiting passengers on every free piece of land are organised, numbered; they even have numbers on their helmets - yes, helmets! They didn't have helmets or numbers in Uganda in 2004.  It's a whole new world. 

The organisation of this event has been epic and it is wonderful to be part of this very special event.  It's going to be  a week of thinking, learning and growing for us all, where friendships will be made, partnerships formed between organisations, and commitments made to taking our Stop The Violence projects forward. 

Guiding is all about learning by doing, and that is what the week will be based around.  We are going to be learning about how Guides du Rwanda works.  We are going to go home equipped to change something, develop something, within our MOs or our communities.  This is a huge opportunity and very exciting.  There are 51 participants here,  representing 28 countries.  We are in patrols.  My patrol is made up of delegates from Bolivia (Adri - if you are reading this - I am with Celeste!), Rwanda, Japan, Cook Islands, Nigeria and Madagascar.   What a great combination! Already, we have talked about our countries, our organisations, and our journeys to get here, which vary from 20 minutes (Rwanda), to more than 30 hours (me - am still not quite sure how it took that long  - I'm a bit confused by the time differences still, having gone back to the future).

We did a series of activities to get to know each other, overseen by the Facilitation team, which includes Rachel who I saw at Our Cabana, just a few weeks ago.  It's a small, small world. 

One of the things we did was to come up with groundrules for the week.  (Pip - you'll be pleased to know that one of ours was - eat with a different person every meal, which was agreed on).  We have an intense programme ahead of us, including learning more about violence and gender, sharing our pre-work, reflection, action planning, campaigning and community visits.  Our patrols have been given  duties, which take the form of blogging for the WAGGGS website, running energiser sessions (some impro, perhaps!) and organising the evaluation each day.

We did a great activity earlier, where we had to write our own recipe for what we hope to gain from this week, and variously include different types of skills, diversity, partnership building etc.  It  was a clever way to think about why we are  here.  My patrol is leading the reflection session in the morning - I knew I'd use the 400  post-it notes in various shapes for something like this!

There is something wonderful about being part of Guiding, and if you're reading this and not involved (I know at least 3 people outside of Guiding), then come and get involved.  Look at the website www.girlguiding.org.uk and read about the opportunities which are there for you.  Go and help at your local unit - there are units all over the UK, and the world.  So if you're elsewhere, you can get stuck into Guiding  there as well!

I'm going to sign-out there as it is time for bed, and I have to go and organise my mosquito net.  Am taking a cocktail of anti-malarials to fend off African mosquitoes and any lazy Guatemalan mosquitoes who may still be lurking in my bloodstream. 

We have a very exciting week ahead.  Keep reading for updates, and look at www.wagggsworld.org for more.  Thanks for reading.  Here's to a meaningful week ahead.

Is Rwanda on the Piccadilly Line?

The best comedy writes itself.  My journey began this morning,  as so many journeys do, at North Greenwich station, where I jumped aboard the Jubilee Line train and read my Saturday Guardian all the way to Green Park.  Here, I jumped off the Jubilee Line and onto the Piccadilly Line.  I had my giant Vango rucksack strapped to my back, like an awkward orange tortoise.  A man said to me - 'Where are you going?' I replied - 'Rwanda'.  The response came - 'Is that on the Piccadilly Line?'

The other comical thing to report today is that Doha International Airport is a 'silent airport'.  I know this, because there are constant announcements telling me so.  Think about it.

I watched a video on the plane.  I don't know if any of you have seen it.  It hasn't won any awards, to my knowledge.  It's a cracker.  It's called 'How to relieve earache caused by flying'.  Yes indeed.  I couldn't find my headphones, but the images of a man wriggling his jaw from side-to-side were enough to give me the idea, so I copied him.  The man next to me moved to a different seat.

Earlier, in a coffee shop at Heathrow Terminal 4, I pulled my Guardian out of my bag, to read the main news; my bag is tightly packed and the front page ripped, tearing Nigel Farage's laughing face in half, quite inadvertently of course.  I was reading, tweeting, e-mailing, texting, doing  all those things that I do, when suddenly I felt someone nudge me.  I turned and a lady had fainted.  She bashed her head against the floor and blood started gushing out.  A dramatic scene ensued, involving staff on emergency phones and radios and paramedics on bicycles.  I do hope this lady is ok, as it must have been a shock. 

So where am I? I write to you - assuming people are reading this - from the transit area at Doha International Airport.  Doha is the capital of Qatar, the only country in the world which begins with the letter Q. I have always been intrigued by Qatar, as it is so tiny, but so rich, and because I have never been to a country beginning with Q.  Let me tell you about Qatar.  Qatar is the richest country in the world, based on GDP per capita.  Qatar Airways has an enormous fleet of planes in the sky, and flies to all sorts of destinations, both the mainstream and the obscure.  Their planes are environmentally friendly (if that's not tautology).  They also make delightful stamps.  I know this because I am a closet philatelist.  Well, I was.

I am going to the Fifth World Centre pilot in Rwanda, a 'Stop The Violence' conference.  How am I feeling about this? I can't wait to arrive, meet all the other delegates, including the other UK delegate, Lyndsey, who I've been corresponding with for the last few months, and start on the programme.  There are going to be 28 countries represented at this event, and there will be a few people whom I have met before - Doryne from Burundi, who I met at the epic Girls' World Forum in Chicago last year, and Rachel who I have met twice, but never in England, where we are both from.  It will be a great opportunity to make new contacts from around the world, share knowledge and experiences,  and look at how we can take our Stop The Violence  projects forward in our Member Organisations, which range from small organisations with a few hundred members, to giant movements.

Guiding is the ideal vehicle for driving the Stop The Violence agenda forward, and I'll be writing more about that as the days go on.  WAGGGS has 10 million members worldwide - what a force that is!

So why is this conference of interest to me? I have always been interested in the position of women in society, and the gender inequalities which still pervade within societies across the world.  In so many settings, women are considered the subordinate gender, with domestic responsibilities, as well as an expectation that they will bring in an income.  My interest in VAWG started when I worked for FORWARD, the Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development, which campaigns for an end to FGM and child marriage.  FGM is an acute form of violence against girls.  FGM is an horrific, un-necessary procedure widely practised in 28 countries worldwide, and organised in many more.  Look at the FORWARD website for details.  It's not a 'faraway' issue.  24,000 girls in the UK were at risk of FGM.  24,000! Cutting ceremonies are organised during the summer holidays, when girls from cutting communities may be taken back to their country of origin and forced to undergo the procedure.  It is illegal to organise FGM in the UK, but to date, there have not been any prosecutions.

I was one of the researchers for a WHEC report called The Road to Sustainability where I spoke to organisations who work with BMER women who are affected by violence, to find out about the sorts of issues which they face and the challenges they face in trying to secure funding.  There is a profound need for specialist services for women from BMER communities, as there may be a whole range of cultural and other issues to be taken into consideration.  Mainstreaming these support services is a bad idea, as there is a need for specialist knowledge and understanding of BMER communities.

I have been researching the topic of VAWG in the UK, and have gathered information from charities and other organisations.  Read the statistics from the previous post and you will see why there is a critical need for VAWG to be taken seriously.  Over the next few days, there is going to be a great deal of conversation, thinking, reflecting, challenging ideas and ultimately, looking at how to move forward. 

I gave a talk yesterday to a group of Norwegian Young Leaders who are on a leadership programme in the UK.  I spoke about Girlguiding, particularly the Advocacy agenda.  If you are in Guiding and haven't already, plan to use the Girls In Action resources.  Print it all out, take it to your next unit meeting, tell the girls all about it, then ask them how they want to take it forward.  Girlguiding is partnering with 5 charities and there are resource packs full of activities to raise awareness of violence against women, as well as other important topics.  Why not go and read through it all right now?

I'm going to sign out there and go and have a snooze, before boarding the Kigali flight.  I think the plane is stopping at Entebbe in Uganda as well.  I spent a semester studying African Christian Theology in Uganda in 2004, and researching my dissertation.  I was staggered at the attitudes amongst men towards their wives, hence another reason for my interest in this area.  I witnessed a group of male students laughing about how they treat their wives.  There is a long way to go.