Guides celebrate 90 years in TT

FORMER First Lady Zalayhar Hassanali was among 20 persons honoured by the Girl Guides Association for longstanding contributions to the organisation. They were among 100 persons recognised for their outstanding service during the association’s 90th anniversary celebrations at La Joya, St Joseph, on Saturday. Mrs Hassanali started guiding in 1962 but assumed her first official duties in 1972. She served as Guider, District Commissioner, Division Commissioner of West Port-of-Spain and Secretary to the West Port-of-Spain local association. She was later appointed patron of the association.

The accounting firm, Panel Kirr Foster was also honoured for long and meritorious service. Other recipients of awards were broadcaster Sharon Pitt and Maxine Richards, daughter of President George Maxwell Richards. The Girl Guides Association was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in 1914 but it was not until 1969 that they became a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS). WAGGS consists of 140 member countries representing nearly 10 million girls and women. It maintains four World Centres in England, Switzerland, India and Mexico and is divided into five regions — Africa, the Arab Region, Asia, Europe and the Western Hemisphere of which TT is a part. There are over 3,000 members in the local body.