by Elsie E. Reyes
The Girl Scout of the Philippines (GSP) Laguna Council celebrated its 64th anniversary in Camp Mariang Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna on September 8, 2013. The Pistahan sa Kampo is an annual gathering of girl scouts, from twinklers to senior scouts as well as their troop leaders, in the province of Laguna.
The participants took part in dance contests that featured traditional Filipino folk dances. With their respective coordinators, the girl scouts also set up booths and food stalls for the celebration.
Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez, GSP Council Board President and San Pedro Mayor Lourdes Cataquiz, and GSP Southern Luzon Regional Executive Director Rebecca Basañes graced the event.
Mayor Perez emphasized in his talk that girl scouts play an important role in the observance of the town’s waste segregation and no-plastic ordinance. “Alam niyo, ang dami niyong batang ito. Kung kayo lahat ay tutulong sa inyo inyong bayan na bawal kang magkalat, magkakameron ng ayos sa basura, magiging malinis ang inyong barangay, bayan at ang ating lalawigan,” Perez told the scouts.
GSP Southern Luzon Regional Executive Director Rebecca Basañes expressed her delight because Laguna recorded the highest GSP membership among the 96 GSP councils in the country. Basañes further said that “Ang gusto ko, sa isip at sa gawa, ang lahat ng girl scouts ay nangunguna din”. Director Basañes also introduced to the scouts Ms. Aileen Reyes as the new Council Executive of Los Baños.
One of the highlights of Pista sa Kampo was the folk dance competitions for different girl scouts levels namely Tiklos for twinklers, Salakot for star scouts, Sakuting for junior scouts, Binuyogan for senior scouts, and Sapatya for troop leaders.
Among the winners were Calamba West District for the twinklers category, Calamba East District for the star scouts level, Rizal district for the junior scouts category, and Sta. Cruz District for senior scouts category. For the troop leaders evel, Calamba West emerged as the victor.
This year’s Pistahan sa Kampo was organized by the GSP Council Board of Laguna, National Equipment Service, District Committees, District Field Advisers, and the Council Staff.