Do the Girl Scouts work much on sustainability?
Yes, absolutely! My youngest daughter’s Scout troop is interested in sustainability and understanding what they can do. Many of the activities we look at focus on how we can help the environment. In one session, we learned about this remarkable woman in Kenya, Wangari Maathai, who saw the impact of lumbering in her local village, so she made a pledge and started planting trees. She motivated all the women in her village to participate and helped them learn how to propagate and grow trees. We took inspiration from that and began to help local neighbours with their gardening, cleaning up, weeding, planting, etc. We also take the chance to provide education on how we can be more sustainable. Things like reducing plastic waste by minimizing consuming single-use plastics, conserving water through shorter showers, and how to re-landscape gardens so they need less water.
What is your role in Girl Scouts and why is it important to you?
Since the organization is a volunteer-led, it is only as great as the volunteers who run it. So I’ve always ended up raising my hand and saying yes I’ll volunteer so that our children can get access to these fantastic resources and opportunities. Typically, I spend 5-8 hours a month working on organizing, coordinating, and participating in the activities. I see it as my opportunity to mentor the next generation of girls. To be able to play that role model in their life is really rewarding. Maybe in a few years, they’ll look back and say, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember Ms. Christina and how she helped us to go to Space Camp.’ We need to help girls continue being inquisitive through their childhood into adulthood, to give them the confidence to raise their hands and ask questions that help to change attitudes. I’m lucky that NTT allows its employees to do something they feel passionate about and give back to society. NTT is walking the walk, which makes me proud to be here.