Postscript

The return to reality after any major experience is always hard, but there is something different about this one. In just 10 months, we fundraised over £15,500 and took 18 members of 1st Chislehurst Guides and Rangers on the ultimate international Guiding experience - a World Centre stay - and we didn't go for the one in Belsize Park, we went to India.

I avoid superlatives generally but there isn't an equivalent word to describe the Sangam experience - it was truly awesome and I cannot recommend it enough.

On arrival, we immediately became part of the Sangam family, where staff and volunteers from around the world deliver programmes designed to immerse visitors in Guiding, combined with the unique Indian culture. We were welcomed at a traditional ceremony; we shopped for saris, then learnt to tie them; we travelled in rickshaws and on public buses; we hiked up a hill and ate breakfast overlooking the curious landscape of Pune; we ate traditional cuisine lovingly prepared by the amazing Sangam staff; we enjoyed Bollywood dancing, tried Warli art, watched a Bollywood movie in the swimming pool and so much more. We raced around the local area on the Wadi Challenge, trying Indian sweets, mangoes, engaging with local people and soaking up the surrounds.  We visited nearby temples, met community partners who are doing inspirational work supported by Sangam.

Above all, we lived as a community, taking care of each other, being together in a unique international Guiding setting. We learnt about international Guiding and the opportunities it presents, as well as considered how we can shine that light in our communities, within Guiding and beyond.  We learnt about ourselves and about sharing an experience together. We sat together every evening and reflected on the day, making the experience even more powerful.

There is a myth in the UK that you have to be 14 to stay at Sangam - this is not and has never been the case - our youngest group members were just 11-years-old. If you are reading this and run a Guide or Ranger group, drop everything and book a trip to Sangam. Just do it. Yes, it's a long way and yes it will involve a spot of preparation, but it is worth it on another level when you see the impact on the girls, when they actually feel and live within the sisterhood that is world Guiding.

I think a lot of people think Guiding happens in the village hall, for an hour and a half on a Tuesday. And yes, it does. But there is so much more to it than that, and that is why we went to Sangam, for a World Centre experience which is very hard to describe if it has not been experienced.  We are part of a huge global family, where everyone is valued for who they are.

My advice? Book a trip to Sangam. Take your unit; take a few Guiding friends; or go stay as an Independent Guest as they are welcome too.

I want to thank all those who contributed to our incredible adventure - our generous funders; those who helped with events and donations; those who gave us stuff to sell on eBay; those who signed up to easyfundraising; those who chose us as their local charity for the Co-op (which you still can!); those Sainsbury’s customers whose bags we packed on December 23rd, the Co-op customers who enjoyed our Christmas carolling that same day, as well as the good commuters of Chislehurst station and the many others who helped in so many ways in the run up to Adventure 2019,our biggest project yet.

Huge thanks to the leadership team who made it happen - thank you for sharing the vision and giving what you gave to bring it all to fruition.  And to each individual in the group, thank you for the unique qualities you all brought to the experience. We will never create that exact same situation again, so hold it in your heart -

‘Cherish the memories you have made,

Don't let this experience fade’.