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I promise, on my honour, to do my best: To do my duty to God, the Queen and my country, * To help other people at all times, To obey the Guide Law. Mary Sehil Chronicle Special Uniformed girls standing in neat rows in school gymnasiums and church basements still recite the words of the Girl Guide promise. But the world around them has changed and the opportunities available to these girls are far wider than those available to the Guides of yesteryear. Everything from school activities to organized sports such as ringette have increased the demands on their time. In Waterloo the number of voices echoing the promise has declined. There are 175 leaders and 1,075 youths in the local area, about 250 less than there were three ~~ years ago. members of society" â€" remains. But to appeal to today‘s more sophisticated youth, the program has undergone some changes. â€" In 1979 the three age groups â€" Brownies, Guides and Rangers â€" became four, with the addition of Pathfinders between Guides and Rangers. The entrance ages in each of the groups dropped one year. Today‘s Brownies are 6 and 7 years old, Guides are between 8 and 10 years, Pathfinders are 11 to 13 and Rangers are from 14 to 17 and up. At the Brownie level, the program is formed against a fantasy land of pixies, gnomes and fairies. _ _ _ s In subsequent levels, the girls build on skills learned in Brownies and they become more independent of their leaders. By the time they reach the Pathfinder level, Kayler says the girls choose their programs and evaluate their success. Guides, Dr. Barbara Leask instructed one group of girls in first aid while Debby Sloan helped another group work toward a seamstress badge. o _ Though homemaking skills form one of the pathways in Guiding, Kayler says there has been an increased emphasis on careers. Rangers choose career areas they would like to investigate and arrange group visits to such places as veterinary clinics or, as on one occasion, a funeral home, to learn about different careers. "The program is designed to give them a taste of many, many things and maybe will give them an idea of what they would like to do later on," says Kayler. Rick Campbell photos "I feel that this was the original women‘s liberation organization," says Kayler. Guiding, she says, has always encouraged girls to investigate and ask questions before accepting things. When it began during the second world war, women were expected to stay in the home, but the original Guiders admired what the scouts were doing.~ ° She says the gold cord, the highest achievement in Guiding, can help girls in their quest for higher education, jobs, or anything that requires "a girl with allâ€"round skills." "They learned to catch their rabbits and skin them and cook them over a campfire," she says.