From left are Kathy Heath, Cape West Regional Guide Advisor, girl guide, Shiloh Stewart and Melinda Lottering, Cape West Regional Commissioner.
Image: Supplied
The Chiefs' Challenge is the highest award a Girl Guide can achieve — and 14-year-old Shiloh Stewart from Bayview has recently earned this remarkable honour.
To attain the award, a Guide must complete four levels of challenges, each consisting of eight themed adventures: Reaching Out, Guiding Me, Take the Lead, Trailblazing, Safety, All About Me, Inspirations, and Eco Green. Each adventure includes additional clauses, amounting to 56 tasks.
The final requirement is to organise a ceremony and present a scrapbook reflecting her experiences and personal growth as a Guide. Shiloh hosted a heartfelt ceremony attended by fellow Guides, Adult Leaders, Trefoil Guild members, parents, and special guests, including Melinda Lottering, Cape West regional commissioner, and Kathy Heath, Cape West regional Guide advisor.
"Guides has been a bliss of amazing memories, giving back to the community, and making friends," Shiloh shared. "One skill I learnt in Guides was during the Safety Adventure — I learnt what to do when you sprain your ankle and there’s no hospital nearby."
As part of her celebration, Shiloh invited guests to write words of kindness on sticky notes. Each person could then take a note from the "kindness jar" to keep. During the candle-lighting portion of the ceremony, she encouraged the Teddies, Brownies, and Guides to "keep their candle as a reminder to always shine bright".
She concluded her ceremony by renewing her Guide Promise: "I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to my God and my country, to help other people and to keep the Guide Law."
Shiloh will now advance to the next branch of the Girl Guides: Rangers, for girls aged 14 to 18 years.
For more information about the Girl Guides, email ggcw1910@gmail.com or WhatsApp 083 255 3153.