oc cadette girl scouts

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness"

James Thurber

American author and cartoonist

Sounds like community mapping to me!  We ask the girls to look around in their community.  To be aware of what's going on around them.  To boldly go.....(sorry, wrong blog...)

And these girls can be fearless!  Ready to tackle an issue head on.  But first they need to stop and identify their issue.  THEN gather the information, and be aware of what's going on around them.  Awareness can be as simple as seeing a homeless person on the street, then seeing a dog and young child sitting at the side of the road, waiting for their parent to panhandle enough money to buy some food.

And awareness can come from watching a documentary about plastic bags and injured sea birds.  Or a YouTube video about a youth living with HIV.  Or reading a biography about Aimee Semple McPherson, Emmeline Pankhurst or Eleanor Roosevelt. It can also come from reading the daily paper - online or in newsprint.  

It's about the girl being open to what's around her.  To look at what's going on around her with fresh, open eyes.  

We did a community mapping exercise at a training, and I commented that there were no service shelters on the map (homeless, food banks, etc.)  And one girl told me, "we didn't need a shelter, because we live in a nice place, and MIssion Viejo doesn't have domestic violence."  I tried not to preach as we spent about 10 minutes talking as a group about what's in a community, but behind closed doors. Or just not talked about.  Or just brushed under the rug. Or what we see, but don't recognize as a problem/issue.

Those girls left with a new awareness.  I don't know if it led to a Take Action Project, but I can hope that it did lead them to look a bit more closely at the community they live in.  And to Take Action to make the world a better place where they live.