Please meet Tara and Rona Harvey who are Explorer Scouts at the Pink Panthers Explorer Scout Unit in the Craigalmond Scout District in North Edinburgh. At South East Scotland Scouts, we are proud to celebrate female achievement (every day) and are keen to raise awareness about International Women’s Day (IWD) to support a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. This IWD2023 we ask if you are getting involved? We are!
I’m Tara and I’m writing this with my twin sister Rona. We are talking about our journey through Scouting for International Women’s Day. We would absolutely love to share this with you so other girls like us can experience the great opportunities Scouting provides.
Since joining Beavers in 2015 we have camped, canoed, hiked, cooked over fires, abseiled, climbed, got First Aid qualifications, done Bronze DofE, travelled around Scotland and abroad, taken part in environmental projects and fundraised for various charities.
This has been a big part of our lives and has made us more independent and stronger; it’s not always easy growing up – we’ve had difficulties like dyslexia, chronic illness, bereavement, and problems at school. But being at a camp completely in the wild makes you forget the social struggles of being a teenager.
One of our favourite memories is of our first Cub camp at Bonaly – the Cubs 100 camp – we put up a tent in under 5 minutes and won a packet of sweets!
Now we are older we realise that every leader who helped us was a volunteer, they gave their time and enthusiasm. So thank you to all of them at 30th Craigalmond (Davidson’s Mains).
Our Explorers unit, the Pink Panthers, went to the jamboree in Finland last summer: it was an amazing experience for all of us, seeing another country and Scouting abroad. The support was there in Scouting to enable everyone to take part, whether they had health issues or financial challenges.
Rona is now counting down the days to the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea, and I’m looking forward to this year’s Edinburgh Gang Show and going on as many camps as I can – adding to my amazing tally of 50 nights away!
Happy International Women’s Day!
From Rona and Tara
#youthshaped #IWD2023 #SESScouts #Scouts #EmbraceEquity
South East Scotland Scouts
71 Bonaly Road
Edinburgh
EH13 0PB
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