Sangam World Centre, December 3, 2007
Hi L.A,
Thank you so
much for sending me the email and sharing with me your good news from school. I
am happy for you and I bet that your parents feel really proud of you too. You
have studied very hard and you totally deserve that award. Congratulations and
please keep it up.
You asked me
about what I'd been doing here at Sangam? Well, as
you know, this is one of our four W.A.G.G.G.S (World Association of Girl Guides
and Girl Scouts)' world centers, and it is located in
So far, I've
made a lot of new friends who are Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from many
different countries: Nepal , Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Senegal , Denmark ,
Maldives , Pakistan , Hungary , France , England , India , Canada , Australia ,
USA , etc. Although all of us come from different backgrounds and cultures,
speak different languages and have different religions, we all share one common
DREAM: to try to make a difference in the world. This is indeed a golden
opportunity for us to work and play together and discover ourselves through fun
games and activities. Everyday we've got to know better about one another
because we share together almost everything: learning our languages and
traditions, tasting our international foods and playing our international
games, sharing our ideas and thoughts on different topics, visiting the Indian
families and learning about their culture, visiting the HIV/AIDS community and
the care centers, etc. Just like you girls, we live and do everything with our
patrols. We enjoy our stay here at Sangam and we work
together harmoniously to keep Sangam always clean and
beautiful.
I've been here
for just a few days but I've learned so much from the Seminar that I would like
to share with you girls too. Indeed, the HIV/AIDS is one of the most threatening
diseases that has affected millions of women and
children's lives around the world. This is an actual topic that we may have
heard so many times but it has not caught much of our attention since we've
been too busy with our lives. Or, some people might think that HIV/AIDS is none
of their business since they enjoy a healthy and happy life; and that the
doctors, nurses, and social workers are the ones who should be responsible to
deal with that problem. However, coming here in
As Girl Guides
and Girl Scouts, we would like to be educated about HIV/AIDS to get practical
skills and powerful tools to protect our health and to raise awareness among
the people and to do whatever we can to prevent the disease to spread out. It
is extremely sad to learn that most of the HIV/AIDS people who have already
died, have died not from the HIV/AIDS itself, but they have died from
malnutrition, homelessness, pneumonia, and other problems instead due to the
society's stigma and discrimination against them. Because of that, they are
afraid of being rejected by their families and their societies, they are afraid
of losing their jobs and their friends, etc; therefore, they have not come
forward to search for help at their early stages of illness until it is too
late. Being educated about HIV/AIDS, we understand that those people would have
had a chance to survive much longer if they had come for help any earlier.
It is the time
to stop stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. It is
our responsibility to raise our voices to speak out on this topic and to
participate actively in the fight against HIV/AIDS. As young as you are, I urge
each of you girls to join us in this battle by doing some things like: take
good care of your health, eat healthy foods and exercise everyday, study well
at school, do not hang around with bad friends, do not smoke or use drugs, do
community service to help your neighborhood, be a good daughter, and a good
student, etc.
I hope that all
of you will grow up one day to become responsible women who deeply care for
others and who sincerely want to make our world a better place. I feel very
happy now at Sangam and I wish you girls were here
with me to enjoy Peace in this gorgeous place. I wish that each of you will
have the opportunity to visit Sangam one day because
I strongly believe that this special journey will leave unforgettable memories
in your lives and it will enhance your Scout Spirit that enables you to pursue
your Scouting path further and farther. I like for you to experience the
kindness, the care, and the love that the Girl Guides have shared with one
another and with the people in need; which I have witnessed, especially during
our visits to the people living with HIV/AIDS at the DISHA and SAHARA AALHAD
Centers. We love the people; we celebrate Life. And if we strive together to
fight this disease, we will win this battle in the near future.
All
right? That's all for today. Please tell our troop that I miss you
all very much and that I have a lot of stories to tell you girls when I get
back. Also, please send my best to all the leaders and parents.
Take care,
Chi Phuong