Camp for disabled youth planned by Girl Guides

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 7

Camp for disabled youth planned by Girl Guides

Disabled young people will camp with ablebodied young people in Rotorua next month under a new initiative by the Girl Guides Association. About 25 young people with special needs will camp with 35 able-bodied young people at Lake Okataina, east of Lake Rotorua, from January 9 to 13. The range of disabilities include cerebral palsy, deafness, paraplegia, Down’s syndrome, and special psychological needs. The youngsters will camp together under a

special programme, which is the culmination of a move within the guide movement to integrate children with special needs into active guide units. The Ganapati programme, as it is called, is an acronym for the Guide Association National Proficiency Award for Training in Integration. The spelling also is an Indian word for a mythical Hindu elephant figure, whose powers are said to include encouraging people and removing obstacles.

The new scheme will also train young leaders from within the outside guiding. In preparation for the week-long camp at Lake Okataina, 18 young guide leaders, aged from 17 to 20, will attend a training camp in Hamilton the week before to learn the skills needed to plan and run integrated residential camps for young people with special needs. The Guides Association is training the young leaders to help them prepare and run integrated camps in their own areas.