The 31st Mosta Girl Guides Company is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. It was started in the early 1970s by sisters Mary Borg and Kitty Saliba, née Muscat, who, at the time, carried out voluntary work with the Mosta branch of the St John Ambulance Brigade as well as with the Mosta Boy Scout Group. 

The St John Ambulance Brigade had both boys and girl members while the scout group was open for boys only. Mary and Kitty were members of the former but also helped with the scouts since their sons were members. Among the youngest members of the St John Ambulance Brigade was Marvic Camilleri, Mary’s daughter, who is still involved with the Mosta Girl Guides today.

The Mosta Girl Guides during a tree-planting event held in April as part of the group’s 50th anniversary celebrations.The Mosta Girl Guides during a tree-planting event held in April as part of the group’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

The idea to start a new Girl Guide company in Mosta came after Mary and Kitty, along with their children and some friends, went to Valletta to support the Mosta Scout Group, which was participating with its band in that year’s annual parade. Back then, the event was known as St George’s Day. 

During the parade, the girls noticed groups of girls dressed in blue uniforms who were marching with the scouts and naturally wanted to join them. It was then that Mary and Kitty approached the then chief commissioner of the Malta Girl Guides Association, Rose Lanfranco, expressing the wish to start a Girl Guide company in their home town. 

The preparations to start the group thus began. Mary and Kitty attended a summer-long training programme for leaders with then central district commissioner Laura Bajada and assistant district commissioner Mary Azzopardi. 

Mosta Girl Guides co-founder Mary Borg (centre) with her daughter Marvic (third from right) during a reception marking the 40th anniversary of the group.Mosta Girl Guides co-founder Mary Borg (centre) with her daughter Marvic (third from right) during a reception marking the 40th anniversary of the group.

In those years, it was uncommon for two married women to spend time outside their homes to carry out voluntary work but,  thanks to their charismatic nature, the two sisters began attracting girls and young women to the Girl Guides. Eventually, other women joined, so the group grew larger.

Mary and Kitty started organising weekly meetings for the company members in October of 1970. The group was officially registered with the Malta Girl Guides Association in 1972. 

Mosta Brownies and Guides during a camp in the 1980s.Mosta Brownies and Guides during a camp in the 1980s.

A Brownie Guide and a Girl Guide section were set up. 

The Brownie Section was for girls between seven and 10 while the Girl Guide section was for girls between 10 and 14. Kitty led the former section and Mary led the latter. That year, they attended the annual parade wearing their blue Girl Guide uniforms for the first time. Some of them even played the drums and clarinets with the Mosta Scouts’ band. Mary’s daughter, Marvic, and her cousin, Janet, played two new light drums that their parents had bought from England months earlier. It was the first time that a band made of both Scouts and Girl Guides played band marches during the annual parade. This then continued for a few years. 

In its early days, the group started meeting at the Mosta Scouts’ headquarters housed in an alley on Tower Street. However, as time went by, the group felt the need to have its own premises. Mary and Kitty went on to purchase an old house in St Anthony the Abbot Street, just opposite the chapel bearing the saint’s name. They paid for the house out of their own pockets. Unfortunately, the house was in a bad state of disrepair and it became too risky for children to meet there. The house was, thus, sold and the profit could be used to invest in new premises. However, this was not meant to be. 

It took the Mosta Girl Guides years to settle in a new home. At times, the Girl Guides used the Mosta parish hall for meetings or met at the home of Mary and Kitty’s mother. For a while, they met on a landing beside the hall of the band club Soċjetà Filarmonika Santa Marija on Eucharistic Congress Street. 

“To celebrate their golden anniversary, the Mosta Girl Guides have organised a series of activities”

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the then minister for agriculture and fisheries, Lawrence Gatt offered the Guides the use of office space in the Civic Centre building which today houses the health centre. This space was shared with the Mosta Cycling Club. Meanwhile, the Mosta Girl Guides continued to raise funds to buy their own property.

Then, in 1995, thanks to the help of then youth and sport minister Michael Falzon, the Mosta Girl Guides were offered the opportunity to rent premises on Trinċetta Street. After 16 years, they could finally settle in a new home. The place, named KitMar Lodge after the founders Mary and Kitty, is still used by the Girl Guides today.

Throughout the years that Mary and Kitty led the Mosta group, they became known for their excellent cooking and sewing skills. The sisters were great cooks and prepared great meals during camps and other national and district events. They were most popular for their traditional beef stew and fresh cakes baked daily on stove tops using the bormaforn for tea time. Both Mary and Kitty were qualified Quarter Masters. 

The food prepared with so much love by Mary and Kitty brought together not just the members of the Mosta Girl Guides but other groups too. Over the years, time spent cooking and eating together nurtured a friendship among Girl Guide groups from other towns and villages who also contributed in the development of the Mosta Girl Guides.

Kitty was also good at needlework. She took care of anything that had to do with sewing uniforms, the hats and the colourful scarves used by Girl Guide units. Very often, Mary and Kitty’s mother, Rożina Muscat, also got involved in helping her daughter design patterns for sewing. 

Since their early days, the Mosta Girl Guides worked hard towards offering international experiences to the members in the group. Throughout the years,  members visited the US, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium, India, the Philippines and Singapore, among other countries, to participate in international Girl Guide events. The group leaders aim to organise a travelling experience at least every two years. Their pride and joy is to see the girls and young women members have fun while growing into independent and good citizens.

The Mosta Girl Guides have been involved in Mosta’s community life since the early days. They regularly organise weekly members’ meetings, participate in clean-up activities, visits to elderly people’s homes based in the locality, take part in national and local charity initiatives such as the l-Istrina telethon and the Puttinu Football Marathon, church parades and religious processions such as Qalbiena Mostin, Christ the Redeemer, Our Lady of Sorrows and Easter as well as activities organised by the local council. 

The group was awarded Ġieħ il-Mosta in 2016 for its voluntary contribution to the town. 

Senior and former members of the Mosta Girl Guides are also involved in Girl Guiding at national level. Karen Buttigieg is the group’s current president. In the past, she served as deputy chief commissioner and international commissioner. Marvic Camilleri, who was awarded Ġieħ il-Mosta in 2008, served as central district commissioner for 10 years and also represented the district at the MGG Council. In 2003, she received the very first Chief Commissioner Award after giving first aid to a fellow guider, Joyce Schembri from the Dingli group, who was choking on food just before Camilleri intervened with back slaps and abdominal thrusts.

During last month’s tree-planting ceremony, the group planted 50 trees at the Ġnien l-Għarusa tal-Mosta.During last month’s tree-planting ceremony, the group planted 50 trees at the Ġnien l-Għarusa tal-Mosta.

To celebrate their golden anniversary, the Mosta Girl Guides have organised a series of activities. On April 30, 50 trees, one for each year of the Mosta Girl Guides’ existence, were planted at Ġnien l-Għarusa tal-Mosta with the help of Parks Malta. A church parade and thanksgiving Mass were held at the Mosta Basilica last Sunday. 

Furthermore, the group organised a mother and daughter’s day trip to Sicily for its young members and their mothers while a party for the young members and their friends was held on May 6. A reunion for all ex-members of the Mosta Girl Guides is planned for September. A logo was designed for the occasion by ex-member Valentina Lupo. 

These activities are meant to mark the voluntary work carried out with dedication, commitment and a lot of sacrifice by the Mosta Girl Guides’ current and past members. Their contribution was vital for the group to remain one of the largest and most active Girl Guide groups in Malta. 

As part of the Malta Girl Guides, the group works directly with girls and young women throughout the year to offer an informal education programme and international experiences that offer opportunities for self-development. 

Girl Guiding is an international movement for girls and young women created by Lord Robert Baden Powell in 1909. His wife, Olave Baden Powell, later continued the mission set out by her late husband. 

Parents who would like to enrol their daughters in the Mosta Girl Guides or adults who wish to carry out voluntary work with the group should get in touch with the group’s leaders via the group’s Facebook page Mosta Girl Guides Malta.

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