The Guides du Bénin is the national Guiding

Girl Guides

A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...

 organization of Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

. Guiding in Benin started in 1954, the association was founded in 1960 and became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...

 (WAGGGS) in 1963. The girls-only association has 1,533 members (as of 2003). It is affiliated to Scoutisme Béninois

Scoutisme Béninois

Scoutisme Béninois is the national Scouting organization of Benin Scouting in Benin started around 1930 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1964 under the previous name Dahomey...

, the national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement

World Organization of the Scout Movement

The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

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History

The first Guide patrols in then-Dahomey

Dahomey

Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...

 developed in Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo is the official capital of the West African nation of Benin, and was the capital of French Dahomey. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.Porto-Novo is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion...

 in 1954. Two years later, the first Guide camp was held and the movement spread to Cotonou

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

. When the association was official founded in 1960, all three sections were introduced. In 1963, the Guides du Bénin became an associate member of WAGGGS. In the following years, membership numbers stagnated, and the association was only granted full membership in WAGGGS in 2005.

Sections

The association is divided into three sections, according to the age of the members:

• Jeanettes (Brownies
  Brownies (Girl Guides)
  A Brownie is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations for girls from their seventh birthday to their tenth birthday. Exact age limits are slightly different in each organisation.-History:...
  
  ) - ages 8 to 11
• Guides (Girl Guides) - ages 11 to 16
• Guides âinées (Ranger Guides) - ages 16 and older

Promise, law and motto

The Guide Promise of the Guides du Bénin has the following wording:

Sur mon honneur je m'engage à servir Dieu et mon pays en toute circumstances, à aider mon prochain et à observer la loi des guides.
On my honour, I undertake to serve God and my country in all circumstances, to help other and to keep the Guide Law.

The Guide Law of the Guides du Bénin:

1. La Guide n'a qu'une parole.
   A Guide keeps her word.
2. La Guide est loyale.
   A Guide is loyal.
3. La Guiede est utile à ses Parents, ses camarades et son pays.
   A Guide is useful to her parents, friends and country.
4. La Guide est l'amie de tous.
   A Guide is a friend to all.
5. La Guides est coutoise est sait obéir.
   A Guide is courteous and knows how to obey.
6. La Guide découvre la nature et la protège.
   A Guide learns about Nature and protects it.
7. La Guide est toujours de bonne humeur.
   A Guide is always good-tempered.
8. La Guide ets économe et travailleuse.
   A Guide is thrifty and hardworking.
9. La Guide est propre dans ses pensées, ses paroles et ses actes.
   A Guide is pure in her thoughts, her words and her deeds.
10. La Guide est civiquement consciente et sert les interêts du peuple béninois.
    A Guide is a responsible citizen and acts for the good of the people of Benin.

The Guide Motto is Toujours prêt!, Always Prepared in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

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