Hold the Fono – girls on a mission!
Future leaders: Ruth Chikasa with (from left) Madeline Small, Nicole Thatcher, Taneika Price and Briony Barabas. Photo: Heather Smith
ABOUT 130 young women from Girls’ Brigades across the country descended on The Tops Conference Centre last week for the biannual Fono event which focused on developing leadership and team building skills.
Fono is short for Fono Marae which means meeting place, with the Stanwell Tops venue chosen for its facilities and outdoor activities.
International president Ruth Chikasa from Zambia attended the event and said the aim of Girls’ Brigade was to “transform girls’ lives and enrich God’s world”.
“We hope that what we learn and put into practice will be a blessing for the community,” she said.
Mrs Chikasa, who has been involved with Girls’ Brigade since she was five, said she was drawn to the organisation because it allowed her to grow in her spiritual life and “continue to be a girl”.
She said the skills the girls learned would help if they chose to do mission work in places such as Tanzania or Kosovo.
“We aim to develop girls holistically – physically, educationally, socially and spiritually – with activities that build skills and leadership but are also fun and further social interaction with people from different areas,” she said.
National Commissioner Coral Anderson said the girls had participated in ice skating, swimming, archery, zumba, cake decorating and a murder mystery night during the nine-day camp.
“We had a huge range of activities for the 136 girls aged 14 to 20 who participated in the spiritual program,” she said.
Next year is the 120th anniversary of the Girls Brigade. For more information, visit www.gbnsw.org.au
