Girl Scouts of Mitten Bay     5470 Davis Road     Saginaw, Mi 48604-9499     1-800-968-1185

Brownie Girl Scout UMOJA Patch Program

UMOJA stands for unity. It means to work for togetherness in my family, our community in which we live, our nations and with others. The UMOJA patch programs were developed by the Commonwealth Girl Scout Council of Virginia, Inc.

1.  Well-Being

Diet

An African dessert is fried bananas. Try this recipe with your troop or at home.

FRIED BANANAS

Several bananas       2 eggs        Flour        Powdered Sugar           Shortening or oil - for frying 

Beat the eggs together in a bowl. Slice the bananas into round pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Dip the sliced bananas into the beaten eggs, then dip them into the flour. Fry the slices in deep oil until they are golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel. Roll them in powdered sugar.

A game from Africa called "Hawk and Hens" is on page 101 of the Brownie Girl Scout Handbook. Play this game with your troop.

2.  Outdoor Environment

Plants and animals are found in every country. Africa has many plants and animals that are not native to the United States. Find pictures of African plants or animals. Make a scrapbook using the pictures glued to poster board with an outline of Africa over the pictures.

You will need a world map and a separate map of Africa. Look at the world map to see where the United States is and where Africa is. How could you get there? How long would it take? Compare the size of Africa with the size of the United States. Look at the map of Africa, locate Mali, Ghana, Songhai, Kenya and South Africa. Draw your own map of Africa and put those places on the map. Draw a map of the United States and put Michigan on your map.

An African song is "Kum Ba Ya". African-American songs are "Lift Every Voice and Sing", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Go Down Moses". Ask your leader to help you sing as many of these songs as you can find.

Tie-dying, weaving patterns, mask-making, sculpture and painting are some African art forms. Use your library to find out how to do some of these things and make one piece of African art work. A good book to use is African Crafts for You to Make, by Janet D'Amanto. If your library does not have this book, perhaps your troop would like to donate it to the library so that other people will be able to learn about African crafts too.

Learn about Girl Scouts/Girl Guides in an African country. What are they called? Compare these things with what we have in the United States: Girl Scout uniforms, Girl Scout pins and the Girl Scout Promise. Learn to greet and bid farewell to your Girl Scout/Girl Guide friends in Swahili.

Choose three (3) of the people listed below. Find a picture of each (or draw one) and tell what they have contributed. Put the information in a troop scrapbook of famous African and African-Americans and donate it to your school or council library.