|
When she was 24, Emmy came to Canada from the Netherlands to begin a new life. Filled with many aspirations, her hopes were soon dashed due to problems with her immigration paper work. Yet, these set backs ultimately led to her finding support at Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada.
“One of the recommendations made by Immigration Canada was that doing community service work would help me gain my landed immigrant status,” says Emmy. She has a degree in horticulture and always loved the outdoors, so Guiding offered her a chance to become involved in her community and enjoy the environment in a new country.
Emmy braved additional personal challenges. When she ended her first marriage to a physically abusive husband, she gained strength from her Guiding friends, who gave her phenomenal support during trying times. Guiding also became a safe and rewarding environment for her daughter, Elora.
“Even though she had a rough time she has accomplished mountains! Elora is doing great in school and was part of the Canadian team who won the 2007 Synchronized Swimming Championships. She has been on the honour roll for the last five years and just received her Principal Award of Excellence. Last summer, Elora worked as a senior staff member at a Girl Guide camp. She made her best friends in Guiding and they have been with her throughout her life.”
When Emmy’s second marriage ended after emotional abuse, she continued to gain strength from Girl Guides. “Guiding was the thread through all my difficult times – there was always something to do, to keep me going, something to be excited about. When things were tough, depression limited my ability to be an active Unit leader, but I still participated as a trainer or by taking groups out on hiking or camping events.”
Thanks to her daughter’s Pathfinder leader, Emmy found her way to a women’s shelter. She wanted to take the first steps in establishing a new life for herself and her children. She made a new home for herself and enrolled in a program that taught her about becoming self-empowered, building healthy relationships and developing effective communication skills.
Emmy also found direction when she participated at a national Girl Guides camp in Guelph, Ontario . The highlight was meeting Roberta Bondar and hearing her inspirational message of following your dream no matter what obstacles got in your way. It planted the seed for Emmy’s future success – keep believing.
She discovered how truly self-reliant she was when received a full scholarship and additional sponsorship through her church and local women’s centre to participate in a 21-day Outward Bound course. Emmy would later go on an independent canoe trip that confirmed her personal strength. “Just spending time in the wilderness makes me better, trying something new and different. It is like doing the test before the lesson. The wilderness made me more confident. I learned that I already had strength within me, thanks to all my work and camping with Guiding,” she says.
The seed of success came to fruition when Emmy came up with the idea to share her camping skills with other women in an effort to help them discover their own confidence. She believed that outdoor adventures and challenges would give them the same sense of accomplishment and self-assurance that she gained. Soon, her business, Wilderness Wanderings, was up and running.
In February, 2007, Emmy organized her first winter camp as lead guide and owner of Wilderness Wanderings, very proud that she was doing something she always wanted to do - working in the outdoors! She felt even greater satisfaction by introducing other women to the risk of new experiences to expand their personal growth.
“I want to continue to share my experience, not only in the Guiding world, but with women who are going through life transitions. The wilderness gives us an opportunity to learn, to reflect, to expand our horizons, to build and to grow. I want to bring smiles to other women by showing them that they are better than they thought, can do more than they think, and that they have faith in themselves to do whatever they need to do. Barriers can be overcome by exceeding our limits and taking risks. “
Emmy explored her own abilities by being involved in Guiding as an adult. Looking back, she wishes she would have had the influence of Guiding in her life as a girl. Emmy continues to enjoy working with Ranger age girls, aged 15-17, who show burgeoning maturity but are still looking for guidance. They know more than they sometimes realize and Emmy is happy to help them become independent young adults who believe in themselves.
“I think some of the biggest challenges that girls now face is how fast the world moves around them, there is no time to enjoy simple things. Schedules are overloaded; too many things ‘have’ to be done, there is a lot of pressure to belong. Without a strong belief in themselves, their dreams sometimes get crushed. Girls in Guiding learn how to reflect, believe in themselves, and in their dreams. When girls are confident they aspire to bigger things.”
Emmy is one of many incredibly resourceful women who are Girl Guide Members. With all the difficult circumstances in her past, she managed to regain her self-esteem and learn the value of her own strength. Girl Guides of Canada is thankful that she shares her expertise by helping to shape the next generation of Canadian girls.
To learn more about Emmy’s business venture, visit http://www.wildernesswanderings.ca/
|
Print 
