Three Tipperary women take on Guiding’s ultimate challenge

Three Tipperary women are all set to take part in Irish Girl Guides’ toughest challenge. The three, who are all Guide Leaders, will hike 180 kilometres over 10 days while carrying all their camping and cooking equipment, clothes, food and water and surviving on just €3.25 a day.

They will also have to complete a number of projects during the Explorer Belt survival adventure. These will involve completing a service for the local community and finding out about local history and culture (without using a smartphone)!

Twelve Irish Girl Guides’ Leaders from around Ireland will be taking part in teams of two. Mena Timoney and Noreen McCarthy, who are both Leaders of Clonmel Guides and Senior Branch (Guides is for girls aged 10-14 years and Senior Branch for girls and young women aged 14-30 years), are one team while Mary Theresa Hally from Cashel will be partnering a Dublin Guide Leader, Helen O’Reilly. Mary Theresa has lived in Dublin for almost 20 years and is a Brownie Leader in Dun Laoghaire (Brownies is for girls aged 7-10).

 While the women have trained over the past few months by going on regular hikes, it has been impossible for them to prepare for the projects as they will not know where in Europe they are going until they arrive with their rucksacks at Dublin Airport on Sunday 28th July. Not knowing where the challenge is to take place adds greatly to the excitement and anticipation!

They are all looking forward to the challenge, but some nerves are beginning to kick in too. “I know it will be very challenging to complete so I hope I can rise to the challenge both mentally and physically,” saysNoreen, “When I heard about it I thought it sounded like an amazing challenge and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It will be a great sense of achievement if we are successful.”

Noreen is a regular hill-walker and has climbed Kilimanjaro and completed the Fei Sheehy Challenge, which involves crossing the three mountain ranges of the Comeraghs, Galtees and Knockmealdown over three consecutive days, so her main concern is the heat, depending on which country they go to, and managing on a tight budget.

Through her involvement in Guiding, however, she has learned that “teamwork can help you do anything” and she reckons Mena will help her through the tough times. “I think we are a good combination as I have the hiking/navigating knowledge and she brings a lifetime of Guiding experience, so she will take the lead on camping know-how,” she says.

While Mena is feeling somewhat apprehensive about what lies ahead, she is also looking forward to the challenge. “It is a challenge like no other,” she says. “And I am a true believer that we can’t encourage our young members to embrace challenges unless we have faced them before. Whether we complete it or not, we will at least be able to say we did our best.”

She is, of course, hopeful that they will stay the course. “I hope to gain a sense of accomplishment – that I faced 10 days of planning, navigating and projects and made it through to the other side,” she says. “To date, all the challenges I have faced in Guiding have been fantastic – none that I can say were difficult – they were all learning points on my Guiding journey.

“I have been very lucky to have travelled with Guides to various parts of Europe and as far as Georgia. During my seven years as an Irish Girl Guides Leader, I have made some fantastic friends and gained skills, not just for use in Guiding but in my normal life too, such as training skills, leadership skills, planning and running programmes.”

 Mary Theresa hopes her years of Guiding experience will help her tackle the challenge. She successfully completed the Irish Girl Guides’ Chief Commissioner’s Award in 2011, which involved hiking 60 kilometres in Roscommon and completing eight projects over five days. Also while carrying all her food and clothes, camping and cooking equipment.

 “Guiding has certainly guided me to develop to my full potential,” says Mary Theresa. “I have got to travel the world, work in India, attend trainings in Mexico and across Europe. I have served on national committees, assisted with international Guide camps and represented Guiding on the board of the National Youth Council of Ireland. Each role/adventure has had its own challenges but the rewards personally have far outweighed them.” 

The Explorer Belt survival adventure is being organised by two experienced IGG leaders, Katherine Ryan and Jemma Lee, who themselves successfully completed Explorer Belt in Germany four years ago. “Taking part may sound like a daunting experience and it is certainly not something taken on lightly,” says Katherine. “Guiding, however, has given the participants the tenacity to take on the challenge, the skills to participate in it and the confidence to believe in their abilities to complete it.”

Jemma says completing the adventure challenge included undertaking three compulsory projects, which determined the route each team would take. “These projects can investigate the recent past of the country, areas of geographical interest or unusual, quirky places,” she says. “The remaining projects involve learning more about the area the participants find themselves in – be it geographically or culturally. They are designed to bring the teams in close contact with the local people and help to immerse the teams in their Explorer Belt location.”

 Irish Girl Guides welcomes new members from age 5+ and adult volunteer leaders from age 18+. See www.irishgirlguides.ie for further information or tel: 01 6683898.