h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When we first suggested it we told her that if she didn't want to do it that was ok, the first meeting was a 'Come-and-see-if-you-like-it-if-you-don't-it's-no-big-deal' she decided that she wanted to carry on and now she's got her uniform she really proud of herself but she can give it up at any time if she wants to, but I don't think she does, not yet anyway

That's good. It's a great thing to be part of.

It'll look good on application forms and CV's and it's practical

Absolutely. At school we were encouraged to take up things to put them onto our uni applications. Looks great.

She could earn extra money at work too, a woman I used to work with got an extra £10 a week for being a first aider for the company

That's not bad. I've heard of so many groups the need a first aider too, like Guides and youth clubs or whatever, and it can be great to say you have a recognised thing.

Yeah, that's why I hope she'll keep it up

If she's enjoying it, I'm sure she will.

It's something different, all her friends do sport or dancing, something like that

Know what you mean. Can be nice to do stuff like that with friends but you have to do somethings for yourselves.

Very true, i don't think I'd be much of a mother if I kept emcouraging her to keep going at something if she has no talent for it

Sho - the alternatives for your girls in Germany depend, like anywhere else, on the people offering the group meetings.

It's like this everywhere really, for example: I was in the Red Cross as a kid, simply because our village didn't have a Guide Company.

In our town, here in Germany, the Junior Fire Brigade are quite strong, but there is also the Red Cross, the THW, the DLRG (coastguards??) and probably the Johanniter. You can find all of these via the Town Hall, as they are registered associations.

The St John's (also called Malteser because their symbol is a Maltese Cross) date back, AFAIK, to the time of the crusades. But this is only something that I once lodged at the back of my mind. Anyway, they're all over Europe, on a par with the Red Cross.

In Germany, the Scouts and Guides are run entirely by the churches, so you'd have to check those out to find a group. They don't really get the idea of Guiding and Scouting right to my mind, as they are denominationally segregated. I helped run a Guide Company when I lived in Cambridge and we had all kinds, including Moslems in it.

All these Organisations such as the Red Cross and the THW (Technische Hilfswerke - they do stuff similar to the Fire Brigade, but not relating to fires) all teach the kids similar stuff. They will all cover first aid, life saving, camping skills etc at some point, but they are all very good at giving the kids social experience and teaching them (almost by the by) independence, self-esteem and social skills. They have to organise themselves and, as they get older, others, too.

So they're all like the Guides and Scouts in a way with slightly different emphases, and you just have to find a group where you like the leaders, they offer plenty of activities (outings, camps), have a good attendance level (shows the kids enjoy coming).

If you have an Army Base nearby, your girls could join the British Girl Guides, which would be absolutely ideal. My boys were lucky enough to get to spend a few months with the American Boy Scouts before they took the Americans away. We had some amazing experiences with them, met some lovely people, and learned several new skills.

The St John Ambulance grew out of The Order of St John or The Hospitalier's. They were a group of fighting monks (rather like the Knights Templer) who dedicated themselves to taking care of sick pilgrims as well as fighting in the Crusades, they were driven out of the Holy Land and ended up in Cyprus for a while then went to Rhodes and ended up in Malta after Rhodes was invaded. The Turkish Sultan decided he wanted the Knights out and sent his army to Malta but the Knights held out until re-enforcements arrived. Under the leadership of Jean de la Vallette the Knights and Malta prospered, they built the capital city Valletta, a cathederal and a hospital, they were there until 1798 when Napoleon drove them out. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (the direct decendants of the Knights) is now based in Rome.

Scary the number of things that used to be church-run that are now far removed from it. I'd no idea that in germany, Scouts and Guides were all run by the church. Here, we've some that are held in community halls, and some held in church halls, but you don't have to be from that church or any church to go to a particular group.

The odd thing is that our local church doesn't have a youth group

Really? Weird. Thought that was somrething that every church had. So many have some sort of youth clu or youth fellowship or BB or something.

Not the Catholic Church in Gosport apparently

Oh! Well it must be one of the few. Most churcuhes round my area have things.

I was really surprised when I asked my mum if they had a youth group and she said no

Well maybe it's time to start one? There are so many groups needed and wanted, but never enough adults to run them.