Girl Guides in Georgetown connect to Wireless Communication training
A TEAM FROMTHE Youlou Amateur Radio Association (YARA) were engaged in the transmission of vital wireless communications skills to a contingent Girl Guides in Georgetown earlier this month.
The training for the 32 members of the Girl Guides Association took place on Thursday, May 6, 2026 at the Georgetown Secondary School (GSS), at the invitation of the Guide Leader and teacher of the GSS, Setranella Young, to impart knowledge and skills to the young ladies.
With the limited time available, the guides were taught the basics of wireless communications including learning the phonetic alphabet which they used to introduce themselves. Following an introduction of theYARA team by YARA President James Codrington J88JC, Immediate Past President Don De Riggs J88CD gave the girls an insight into wireless communications explaining how 2-way radio works and showing the similarity with the common cell phone and two way radios.
The girls were divided into five teams with radios and sent to different parts of the school compound while simulating a natural disaster, sending and receiving messages between ‘master control’ and ‘first responders’. This aspect of the training was short and the leader has invited the YARA team to join their camp later this month where the girls can obtain more hands-on training in the outdoors.
Before ending the session, the president- J88JC quizzed the girls on what they learned and those who answered correctly were given a small surprise prize.
Young said the activity “was one of the best facilitated sessions that I have ever had with the girls. I learned and the girls learned” as indicated by their responses.
“It takes more than us on the job to get the job done. It takes a supporting team from the community, and today was a testimony of that,”Young said, as she went on to thank the organisers and facilitators of the event.
YARA intends to conduct a training session in Georgetown during the Summer holidays where the Girl Guides and other students will be given the opportunity to earn an Amateur Radio (Ham radio) license.YARA will also be staging its annual pre-hurricane season communications readiness drill over the Whitsuntide weekend getting its members in a state of preparedness for the 2026 storm season.
TheYARA members who took part in this training activity included President James Codrington J88JC, Vice president Eban Oliver J88NGL, Monte Browne J88NMB and Donald De Riggs J88CD.
(Submitted by Don De Riggs)
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