Latest figures revealed today show that in just eight months over 35,000 Girlguiding UK members have completed the Disability Awareness Challenge – an unexpected huge success. Named You & Me Together, the challenge is a series of activities enabling members to gain an understanding of the barriers that disabled people face.

Thousands of Guides and Leaders have completed the challenge and have received the You & Me Together badge for their achievements. They have enjoyed creative activities and learnt useful skills, such as miming nursery rhymes, Lego model building with one hand in a sling and creating a sensory garden for blind and partially sighted people.

With more than 13,500 members of Girlguiding UK having some form of disability including sensory, physical and learning difficulties, gaining access to guiding and the experiences and adventures which it offers is an important issue for the organisation.

You and Me Together is part of a series of resources which have been developed to help include members with specific disabilities and aid in adapting old buildings.
Girlguiding UK Development Manager Ann Matthews, said: “The final stage of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) coming into force means that it is more important than ever to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken for the inclusion of disabled girls, young women and adults into guiding. Almost 19,000 badges were sold in the first three months, following the introduction of the programme, indicating just how popular the challenge is. I am so pleased that our members have been able to embrace such a worthwhile project”.

Professor Keith Bright, a member of a Government Working Group on Education and Training set up under the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), said: “In viewing the You and Me Together disability challenge, I was very impressed with the aims of the challenge, the excellent way in which the topic has been planned, how the issues are explained to those who will be taking part, and the considerable amount of work that went into producing it.

“Girlguiding UK is to be congratulated on the way it is encouraging all its members, at any age, to gain an understanding of disability issues and to be aware of the importance of including everyone in everyday activities. The challenge will play a major part in ensuring that future generations look towards including people according to their abilities rather than their disabilities, and go on to produce environments, products and opportunities that are equally available to everyone.
“This topic can be and is a very difficult and emotive area to address appropriately. Girlguiding UK have addressed it superbly”.