With a clean sweep of the top prizes, Aaliyah John, of the No. 7 Petersville Brownie Pack, claimed victory as the winner of the third annual Brownies Thinking Day Public Speaking Challenge, which was held on Thursday, February 19th, at the Girl Guide Headquarters.{{more}}

The event, which was organized by the Junior Council of the Girl Guides Association, saw seven young girls vying for the top accolade. The topic for their prepared speeches was: ‘What can I do to keep myself and others from contracting dengue fever and the common cold?’

Displaying a calmness and articulateness beyond her years, 8-year-old Aaliyah impressed the judges with her prepared speech and her impromptu speech titled: ‘A book that I enjoy reading’, which won her the awards for Best Prepared and Best Impromptu speeches.

Clearly elated by her win, Aaliyah had the full support of her Brownie Pack who turned up in their numbers to cheer her on. She expressed how pleased she was with her triumph and thanked her mother Antonio John, teachers, Pack Leaders and fellow Brownies for their guidance and encouragement. “I’m really happy!” she beamed.

Chairperson of the Junior Council, Krystal Robertson, expressed that she was satisfied with the participation and turnout for the event this year, but said there is always room for improvement. “The Junior Council found the event to be fairly successful, although next year we hope to have more participants from the rural Brownie Packs.”

Robertson further pointed out that the nature of the Girl Guide Association could facilitate raising awareness of the social issues that affect us. “The Girl Guide Association is one of the largest volunteer organizations in SVG, with members found throughout the length and breadth of the island and in the Grenadines. This puts us in the position to have a tremendous impact in whatever social issue we choose to tackle. To make an impact, however, we will need to put proper planning mechanisms in place and mobilise as many of our members as possible to be effective.”

Second place in the competition went to Shaniqua LaBorde, of the Troumaca Brownie pack, and Tracia John, of the No. 2 Roman Catholic School Brownie Pack, took third position.

The other competitors included Sheressa Benjamin, of the Barrouallie Brownie Pack; Aria Horne, of the No. 12 Kingstown Preparatory Brownie Pack; Gailesha Huggins, of the Layou Brownie Pack, and Chanelle Mondeusir, of the No. 5 Kingstown Preparatory Brownie Pack. (JSV)