Wimbledon High School student, Rohana Chapman-Dawe has been giving 5.5 hours of every week to her local Rainbows unit for the past 2 years.
Balancing, netball, school and her responsibility as a Young Leader, she really has been juggling into all.
If you are interested in becoming a Young Leader, here is everything you need to know!
When asked why she devoted so much time to this matter, Rohana admitted that it has quickly become the highlight of her week.
She described that she is constantly looking forward to it, and said, “I really enjoyed Rangers, so I wanted to work with rainbows instead, because I never actually did Rainbows myself and I found that I just really love working with them, so I decided to commit more of my time to it.”
She did participate in Brownies when she was younger and then followed up into Rangers, due to her love for the programme.
Due to exams and other extra-curricular activity, some may assume that it would be difficult to manage it all, however surprisingly she disagreed.
She explained, “For example the Tuesday sessions are an hour long so it's 5:30 to 6:30 for me. I get there a bit earlier and I set up all the crafts. Also, sometimes we help with admin, like taking the register, applying them for badges etc.”
When asked if there were any aspects of the position, that she considered difficult, Rohana stated, “When I did it last year, there was a girl who was so quiet and didn't want to take part in any of the activities. It was hard to get her involved, however, once we managed to get her to come out of her shell, she had so much fun!”
She did acknowledge that once GCSE season does come around, her exams will be prioritized, as she said, “My neighbor and I, are the Young Leaders for our unit, as well as one other girl, and we will continue for at least until the start of Summer term.”
However, Rohana does not plan to stop there, as she commented, “In year 12, we hope partake in other programmes, such as working with Brownies, as we think it will be a great experience, especially if it is anything like Rainbows has been.”
When discussing requirements, she listed, “You need to be over 16, and I don’t think that you actually need to have done Brownies, or programmes like that. You also need to fill in an application form online, where you put in your post code and then you get assigned to your nearest unit.”
If you are thinking of applying for this role, Rohana mentioned that that it is not a demanding position. She explained that if you are keen to become a Young Leader, expressing your enthusiasm is the best thing you can do! So, if this position appeals to you, apply on the Rainbows website.
