Chow (front right) at a National Camp – Fonomarae 2019 – with senior and pioneer girls from Third Kuching last December.
NEXT month, a team of young Girls’ Brigade (GB) leaders from their Five Fellowships will travel to New York to represent Girls’ Brigade International at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).
Cindy Chow Li Teen
Among those in the team for the world’s largest global policy-making forum on gender justice is Cindy Chow Li Teen from Kuching, who will represent Asia Fellowship.
She has been a member of the GB for 16 years and belongs to Third Kuching Company.
The 30-year-old lawyer joined GB during her secondary school days and has been serving as a GB officer since 2015.
She believes one needs to be an advocate of justice in every aspect of life and, above all, be merciful, especially to the weaker and more vulnerable members of society.
The GBI’s Delegation of Hope.
It’s her fervent wish to see all children, especially girls, safe, cared for, and given every opportunity to grow, learn, and live up to their potential.
“Most importantly, they must be given education and a right to have freedom of thought, which is the fundamental right of a human being.
“Young children, especially girls, should be granted these basic rights to enable them to be tomorrow’s leaders,” she said.
Chow shared that through GB, she had acquired many personal development traits, making her more confident, independent, resourceful, and stronger.
These attributes have steeled her mettle in expressing her opinions and speaking up for the voiceless.
GB has also provided her with a platform to live out what she strongly feels is her calling.
She encourages more girls to join the Brigade and fully explore their potential through GB activities.
Chow (third left) with her officers.
Excited and nervous
Chow is very excited to be part of GBI’s Delegation of Hope team and looks forward to networking with GB leaders and those from various organisations.
She is eager to share how and what GB can do to help girls achieve enriched lives, saying, by networking through GB, they can make a stronger impact.
thesundaypost recently met up with Chow for a quick chat.
How do you feel about being selected to represent Girls’ Brigade International for Asia at the UN’s Commission?
Excited. A great opportunity as it is an international platform where I get to meet people from different parts of the world and different organisations.
I consider it a once in a lifetime learning experience and also a breakthrough on my part to be able to step into the UN building.
I have never dreamt I would go this far, let alone travel as far as the US for this. I’m both nervous and excited. My parents are actually concerned because this is my first time travelling so far abroad. But thankfully, my parents and my husband are giving me a lot of moral support.
How did you get to know about GBI’s Delegation of Hope team?
I knew about it through GB Worldwide Facebook page and webpage. My GB leaders also encouraged me to try my luck in applying to join the team.
I went for it without any high expectations but deep down, I fervently hoped I would be selected.
What is GB’s main role? How does it help to empower your girls?
In Malaysia, we’re one of the uniformed bodies, recognised by the Education Ministry, and also a part of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. We have our four square programmes – Spiritual, Physical, Social, and Educational.
These can help equip our girls with leadership and additional life skills other than textbook knowledge.
Why the Girls’ Brigade?
I signed up when I was in secondary school back in 2003 as part of my co-curricular activities.
I stayed with the Brigade for four years before circumstances caused me to leave for some time. I came back to serve in my GB Company when I returned to my hometown for good in 2015.
I’m thankful to GB Malaysia for their programmes and syllabi for the different age groups where I developed my leadership skills, especially when I was in high school.
In GB, we are given the opportunities to serve in various areas such as organising events or activities for the younger girls.
As an officer now, I’m learning to plan programmes, reach out to the younger girls, and coordinate my teams.
One very impactful thing I learned from GB is the spirit of teamwork. This particular aspect is driven home, especially when we do our marching drills.
When one person in the squad makes a mistake, everybody will have to repeat the routine. This teaches us that teamwork is crucial.
We also learn no one is perfect and we need to cooperate to achieve success. With teamwork, the achievement belongs to the group, not to the individual. I especially like the saying ‘If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.’
I’ve also grown spiritually through GB. Apart from our officers’ devotion, I’ve also seen how God works in GB, especially in my own company, by blessing us with recruits who enrol on their own.
My faith grows deeper and deeper when I see and allow God to use me as a channel of blessings to the young members.
I have also learnt to depend on God all the time – in big or small matters. God has His timing, methods and will reveal them if we obey Him.
Our GB motto is ‘Seek, Serve and Follow Christ’, which has also transpired as a life-transforming part of me.
I was baptised at 12 but never really knew what it all meant until I came back to my hometown to actually seek and serve – no longer being just a Sunday worshipper.
GB allows me to see the world beyond normal circumstances. To me, it’s a wholesome ministry.
In GB, I see myself not just as a uniformed body member to get worldly awards and accolades but also as a servant for a higher purpose and be a useful agent of God for humankind.
What do you hope to achieve from the forum next month?
To learn and see what GB in another country is doing to help girls develop their self-esteem, confidence, and be future leaders.
I hope to connect with other organisations having similar holistic visions or missions, and explore opportunities that allow people to work together in the future.
I hope to gain a broader view and see if I can help in any way to set new visions for Girls’ Brigade Malaysia as we aren’t just a uniformed body but also one specifically for girls and women.
Can you share your preparation for the presentation at the UN’s Commission.
The International President’s Committee has agreed on four strategic goals for the Delegation of Hope team as follows:
Inspire – The Delegation of Hope will inspire others about GB’s 127 years of ministry among girls across 50 countries and the positive impact of Christian faith on the girls’ lives.
Connect – The Delegation of Hope will connect with other influencers and organisations to build a foundation for relationships and increase the potential for collaboration, particularly in the area of faith and girls’ rights.
Influence – The Delegation of Hope will influence positive decisions to be made at UNCSW, which will help girls and women live life to the full and beyond through their example and campaigning.
Transform – Members from the Delegation of Hope will gain more knowledge, expertise, and experience of international advocacy and campaigning, which can be for their local communities as well as lead GBI’s advocacy forward.
Individually, we’re given weekly learning and reflecting tasks with reports to be submitted on what we have read and learnt to prepare for the conference. We also have online meeting calls for interactions and to prepare and discuss the parallel session.
For 2020, this is first in history where GB International is given a 90-minute parallel session in UNCSW64 to promote Girls’ Brigade and talk about issues on women and faith, women and education, women and health, and gender-specific discrimination.
Topics are by appointment of GBI Team. Mine is on gender-specific discrimination and I’m pairing with Tiffany Barrans from Open Doors International to take up a 15-minute session to share this topic.
Our core point is how a faith-based organisation can play a role to help deal with gender-related persecution. This requires lots of reading, research, and sharing of experience.
One of the station activities Chow led in Cadet Camp 2019.
Please share any experience that touches your heart.
I’m especially touched when parents come and tell me how they trust us with their daughters and how their girls are always excited to come every week for our meetings or programmes.
I’m also encouraged when our young girls come and tell me how I have inspired them through what I have done. I always believe being role models to the younger generation is important.
I always tell the young ones, everyone is unique and there is a value in each uniqueness.
What are the sections in GB?
It’s divided into Cadet (six to nine years old), Junior (10 to 12), Senior (13 to 15), and Pioneer (16 to 18). Those 18 years old and above are welcome to join as volunteers, helpers, or officers to nurture the younger generation.
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About the Girls’ Brigade
The Girls’ Brigade is an international and inter-denominational Christian youth organisation.
It operates in over 50 countries worldwide and is divided into five Fellowships – African, Asian, Caribbean and Americas, European, and Pacific.
International Conferences are held every four years and this has been happening since 1998, when the conference was first held in Australia.
It was held in Thailand in 2002, Northern Ireland in 2006, Malaysia in 2010, Australia in 2014, and Zambia in 2018.
The Queen Mother and Princess Alice were Girls’ Brigade patrons until their deaths in 2002 and 2004 respectively. There is no patron at present.
In 2013, the Girls’ Brigade celebrated 120 years of mission among girls and young women.
The movement began in 1893 in Ireland at a time when women had little social, academic, or service opportunities.
Margaret Lyttle, the founder, was a Christian with a vision and passion to engage girls with the Good News of God’s love and to discover their potential as women of purpose.
The resulting story of GB’s development around the world is an inspiration.
From Ireland and the UK to Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Americas, and the Pacific, the Girls’ Brigade now works alongside churches, governments, schools, and many kindred partners to fulfil its lasting vision of life transformation and blessing.
With strong roots of fun, friendship and discovery, GB continues to positively impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of girls and their families in a broad mix of countries and cultures.