This report was submitted by Angie Holman, a co-leader of Girl Scout Troop 30857.
The 12 members of Menlo Park Girl Scout Troop 30857 have earned their bronze award, the highest honor for Junior Girl Scouts.
The girls earned their awards by sponsoring an Ethiopian student living in a remote African village, called Roggie, and by educating the community about Ethiopia.
The girls’ support of the Roggie Village student named Mimi started over two years ago. The girls perform chores at home to earn the funds to send to Ethiopia through the Ethiopian Initiative, coordinated by Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.
The money that the girls earn helps provide Mimi with school uniform, books and food.
The girls also partnered with the church to help run two events to teach the community about Ethiopia. The first event introduced community members to the foods and life in Roggie Village. The troop served a traditional Ethiopian dinner of Doro We’t (spicy chicken stew) and injera (flatbread), and created centerpieces depicting life in Ethiopia.
The second event was a sample of a day in the life of Ethiopia. The girls ran activity centers based on life in Roggie Village. Participants made beaded jewelry, sampled injera, created toys made from garbage and recycled products, ran a relay race while holding buckets of water, learned some basic (Amharic) language, and played a game that simulated rounding up animals.
The girls received their awards at a ceremony at Encinal Elementary School and received recognition certificates signed by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Menlo Park. The girls attend fifth grade at Encinal Elementary School in Atherton and Oak Knoll Elementary School in Menlo Park.
The troop is lead by Debi Rice, Lisa Miletic, Patty Greene and Angie Holman.
Redwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeApril 2, 2026 11:31 am
