Activities for Pippins,

Brownies and Guides

These badges will be available through E-Shop Limited.

Hand of Friendship Badge
Cost $1.50 each.

Code: B1120
Hand of Friendship Mini Badges
Cost 50c each.

Code: B1121 Code: available online from 1 August 2011

The VSA Hand of Friendship Badge is

an opportunity for Pippins, Brownies
and Guides to show friendship to those
in our global community. This starts with
learning and understanding.

E-Shop Limited
Email: mailorder@girlguidingnz.org.nz
Online shop: www.girlguidingnz.org.nz
Phone: 0800 22 22 92

The Hand of Friendship Badges were jointly created by

GirlGuiding NZ and VSA

This year, GirlGuiding NZ is supporting VSA Project

Friendship. Girls in your unit have the opportunity to be
part of this project through buying friendship bracelets
for themselves, their family and friends, and by selling
them to the wider community.
As an organisation, one of GirlGuiding New Zealands
values is commitment to cultural inclusiveness and
understanding our global connections. Working with
VSA (Volunteer Service Abroad) on Project Friendship is
a way of putting those values into action.

Te Tuao Tawahi Volunteer Service Abroad

VSA works in the Pacific, Asia and Africa, adding
the skills and energy of Kiwi volunteers to strengthen
communities striving for change.
Since VSA was founded in 1962, thousands of
New Zealanders have volunteered in other countries
helping to make a positive difference.
You can find out more by visiting www.vsa.org.nz

By being part of VSA

Project Friendship
2011, Pippins,
Brownies and Guides
are supporting VSA
volunteers working
with young people in
developing countries.

Educating
oth
young peo er
ple

Selling $3 friendship
bracelets to family and
friends this August is a fun
way to understand our global
connections.

Money from each bracelet

sold supports VSA volunteers
working with young people
g
who are:
Bringin nities
u
m
com
r
togetheh sport
g
throu

Working to
their
look after ent
m
n
o
envir

Catherine van Gessel

VSA volunteer from Nelson
Volunteering at the Tanzanian
Episcopal Conference (TEC)
Every day in
the
village
is different.
Kindergarten.
The TEC Kindergarten opened in January
this year, with 50 children aged 56 years.
The kindergarten was built because the
local primary school in the area is
too far for young kids to walk
to (about an hour). Together
with a Tanzanian teacher,
Catherine is working to get the
kindergarten running smoothly.

It can be challenging,
but its also a lot of fun!
Join me on my assignment
by reading my blogs
throughout August at
www.vsa.org.nz

Compulsory clauses
Pippins and Brownies complete two of
the following; Guides complete three of
the following:
Note to leaders: An *
indicates clauses that
are more suitable for
Guides to undertake.

A
Get out there with friends in your area and sell friendship
bracelets.

B
For more details about VSA Project Friendship,
visit www.vsa.org.nz
Order your VSA Project Friendship bracelets
through your District Coordinator.

For many children getting a drink of water, brushing

their teeth and washing is not as simple as turning on
a tap. Often they collect water from a shared well or
river. Walk for 10 minutes carrying a bucket with some
water in it on your head. (You can download instructions
from VSAs GirlGuiding New Zealand page.)

C
Make badges that represent the basic human rights all
children should have access to. (Vist www.unicef.org/
rightsite/484_540.htm for help with this.)

Learn how to tie a kanga baby carrier. (You can download instructions
from VSAs GirlGuiding New Zealand page.)

Wash a t-shirt by hand.

E
Find out about foods eaten in the Pacific, such as taro or coconut.
Choose one and find a recipe that includes this food. (Guides must also
cook the recipe.)

L
Spend a day without using a computer, PlayStation,
Xbox or any other electronic toys.

M
Wash your whole body using only water from a bucket
(great practice for Jamboree).

Help to grow or collect food from a garden.

G
Learn how to say hello, your name and the date and month of your
birthday in another language.

*H
Take time to visit Catherine Van Gessels blogs at www.vsa.org.nz
then tell your unit what Catherine has been up to.

I
Spend an hour in the evening with no electricity; plan activities to do
with family and friends during this time.

J
Make a broom out of natural materials and sweep an outside area. (You
can download instructions from VSAs GirlGuiding New Zealand page.)

Pippins and Brownies complete one

of the following; Guides complete two
of the following:

A
Invent a game or make a toy using one plastic bag,
rubber bands and natural materials such as leaves and
sticks. Try out your game with friends. (Guides teach
your game to a Pippins or Brownie Unit).

*B
Request the VSA DVD and volunteering booklet for your unit. Make
time to show your unit the DVD and lead a discussion about what you
learnt. (Resources available by contacting vsa@vsa.org.nz).

*C
In partners, imagine you are VSA volunteers packing to go overseas
for two years. Use the To bring or not to bring list (download from
VSAs GirlGuiding New Zealand page) as a guide to help you choose
the 20 items you will take. Remember to pack carefully because you
are only allowed to take 20kg of luggage on your flight.

Pippins and Brownies must

complete one of the following
to achieve a Mini Badge;
Guides must complete two
of the following to achieve a
Mini Badge.

D
Earn $3 by doing a job at home or for a neighbour, buy a friendship
bracelet with the money and give it to a friend, telling them why they
are special to you.

E
Make a human paper chain. Draw clothing from
another country onto each person in the chain,
or write or draw something that is really important
for all children in the world to have.

Note to leaders: It is
recommended that girls
aim to complete one Mini
Badge a year once they
have achieved the Hand
of Friendship Badge. An *
indicates clauses that are
more suitable for Guides
to undertake.

A
Volunteering to share your skills with others is a
great way to understand what it is like to be a VSA
volunteer like Catherine van Gessel. The possibilities for
volunteering are endless. As a group or individually you
could:
clean up a local park or public space
provide a dog walking service
*coach younger children in the basic skills
of a sport you can play
*teach a younger child how to play a musical
instrument
*run a reading or craft group.
Volunteering can be very rewarding. Enter our VSA
Volunteer Challenge at www.vsa.org.nz, tell us about
your volunteering and you could win an iPod Touch.

*B
Safe drinking water is important for VSA volunteers when they are
on assignment. It is always good to take water with you to avoid
dehydration but there is a danger. Visit a tramping/camping shop and
find out about ways to purify water. Use a travel guide like The Lonely
Planet or The Rough Guide to find useful tips on safe drinking of water.
Share what you have learnt with your unit.

*C
Rice is a staple food for many children in the countries where VSA
volunteers work. You might be surprised to learn that there are many
different types of rice. Find out about one type and the country where
it is eaten. Buy some from your local supermarket and try cooking it to
share with your unit while you tell them about what you found out.

D
All countries have special songs that they enjoy singing. Find out a
song from another country, learn it and teach it to your unit. Look in the
music section at your school or local library they are full of ideas.

E
Each year VSA works with the Nga
Centre in Vietnam to create interesting
bracelets for young people like you
to sell as part of Project Friendship.
(You might have seen our new, limited
edition country colour bracelets. If
not check them out on our website
www.vsa.org.nz). Design and draw

10

your own three-colour friendship bracelet, using colours

and patterns that are meaningful to you. Once you have
shared your design with your group send it to VSA and
your bracelets might be selected as the 2011 GirlGuide
design winner to be made by the Nga Centre and sold
throughout New Zealand in 2012!

F
It is good for all of us to go without sometimes to
appreciate what we have. Think about something
you really enjoy doing, like watching TV or eating
chocolate, and spend a week without it. Keep
a journal of how you felt each day and share it with
your unit at your next meeting.

*G
Learning about a new country can be a lot of fun.
Think about a country you have always wanted to
visit and make a travelers guide to poster to share
with your unit. Remember, a picture tells a thousand
words so be creative and include lots of pictures.

H
It is lovely to receive cards on your birthday but think
about how great it would be to get a card because
you are a good friend. Make a friendship card and
send it to someone you know, telling them why they
are special to you.

11

I
Plants can be useful for more than just food and shelter. Many people
use plants to create containers and baskets. Use natural materials to
make a container to carry food or other small items. You could use flax,
cabbage tree fronds or large leaves its ok to use a few man-made
materials like string to help you hold it together.

*J
VSA is very fortunate to have the support of The Body Shop stores
throughout New Zealand. Not only do they make great products but
they are helping many of the communities where VSA works. Visit
The Body Shop and find out about where their coconut oil comes from,
then share what you have learnt with your unit.

K
Read about children in another country to understand about their lives.
For Pippins and Brownies we recommend:

The Stuck There Forever Boat

By Gillian Torckler
Illustrated by Bruce Potter
Tama lives on a beautiful Pacific Island
with one major problem climate change
means that his island is slowly sinking.
When the villages have to be evacuated,
Tamas nanny refuses to leave. She was
born on the island the same night a
storm shipwrecked a boat there, and will only leave when the stuckthere-forever-boat leaves too. What will Tama be able to do to resolve
this situation and convince his nanny to leave with them?

12

For Guides we recommend:

Parvanas Journey
By Deborah Ellis
The Taliban still control Afghanistan, but Kabul
is in ruins. Parvanas father has just died,
and her mother, sister, and brother could be
anywhere in the country. Parvana knows she
must find them. Despite her youth, Parvana
sets out alone, masquerading as a boy. She
soon meets other children who are victims of
war an infant boy in a bombed-out village, a
nine-year-old girl who
thinks she has magic
powers over landmines,
and a boy with one leg.
The children travel together,
forging a kind of family out of
sheer need. The strength of
their bond makes it possible
to survive the most desperate
conditions. Royalties from
this book will go toward an
education fund for Afghani
girls in Pakistani
refugee camps.

13

VSA, 32 Waring Taylor St

PO Box 12246, Wellington 6144
AOTEAROA / NEW ZEALAND
www.vsa.org.nz | 0800 8728646
Te Tuao Tawa hi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc
is a registered charity (CC36739) under the
Charities Act 2005