| Girl Scouts reach out to Somalis |
By: Corey Butler Jr.
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Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 11:30 pm
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Naima Munye, a 10-year-old Girl Scout from Owatonna, sits with Gege Abraham, a membership specialist for the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys. (Corey Butler Jr./Daily News)
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cbutler@faribault.com
FARIBAULT — Asma Dahir is proud to be a Girl Scout.
Dahir, a 13-year-old from Owatonna, spent Wednesday morning at the Welcome Center in Faribault reaching out to Somali girls and their families to show them the importance of being involved with the Girl Scouts.
She told the families in attendance that she enjoys the activities she is involved with in Girl Scouts and there is an underlying value to why she is reaching out.
“Not only people who are American can be involved in Girl Scouts,” she said. “Any girl can be involved, even if she’s Somali.”
Barbara Boelk, a public relations specialist with Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, said efforts by girls such as Dahir reflect what the Girl Scouts are working toward.
“Girl Scouts realizes that the country and the world are really less of a melting pot now; it’s more of a salad bowl,” she said. “Everybody brings in their own identities and their own flavors and it all adds to benefit the society as a whole.
“Our whole organization is for all girls — no matter what. We believe if we don’t reach out and give this excellent opportunity to these girls, we believe they’ll be missing out. We are building the women leaders of the world through Girl Scouts.”
Kathy Aase, a membership specialist with the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, teaches English at the Welcome Center. She said students in her class say they and their families want to become more adjusted to American culture.
“What could be more American than joining the premier organization in the country solely meant to build girls’ leadership skills?” she said.
Aase recently received a donation from Glenn Sherburne, president of South Minnesota Lubes, to purchase 25 Somali-English dictionaries for the Girl Scouts to give away. Some of the dictionaries were distributed to families Tuesday.
Boelk said friendly, informal receptions like the one Tuesday are just the beginning in a long challenge ahead to make Girl Scouts accessible to everyone. She said because there might be initial cultural misunderstanding, it doesn’t mean there can’t be a common goal to bring all girls together.
“The ultimate goal is to bridge that understanding gap,” she said. “It’s not exclusive. We are really for all girls.”
— Staff writer Corey Butler Jr. may be reached at 333-3135. |
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