Ruth Ohldag, from Forfar, has just returned from a near-month-long trip to Fiji where she was involved with a four-person team from the UK taking part in Guiding Overseas Linked with Development (GOLD).

GOLD provides members of Girlguiding UK with opportunities for personal development through participation in community development projects overseas, using the medium of guiding.

Ruth, who is a history teacher at Arbroath High School, said: "It's something I have been involved in since 2006 and this recent trip was not my first visit to Fiji.

"The project in Fiji is all about developing guiding through their school systems because over there, guiding is incorporated into the school curriculum. The project covers lots of things based on what the Fijian guides have asked for; this includes - covering HIV and AIDS awareness, healthy eating and also promoting self esteem and building up confidence."

Initially, Ruth went out to Fiji in 2006 as a participant in the scheme where she worked for over three weeks. For her return trip this year Ruth and her fellow guides who have taken part, have been planning for a year so by including the trip in 2006, the scheme is very much an ongoing project.

"While we are out there we run school visits, visiting six to nine schools. We also run big camps and do adult training for the leaders and teachers.

"2008 was a return visit where we continued to work with girls and adults of all ages. In recent years Fiji has suffered from a series of military coups which has set the teaching back a bit and our role is to go over and re-introduce various aspects of guiding.

"Guiding is really important in Fiji as it is an opportunity for girls to develop skills of all sorts," added Ruth.

The GOLD project is not exclusive to Fiji, of course, guiding teams from up and down the UK have travelled far and wide with the project from Belarus to South Africa and Honduras to Thailand.

An experienced campaigner when it comes to travelling, Ruth got the globetrotting bug when she went to Ghana as an 18-year-old. "Through my role in the Girl Guides I have become very keen on international guiding and was fortunate to be selected in 2006 then again in 2008 when I was chosen as leader of the project in Fiji."

The majority of her time in Fiji was spent in schools where she ran a camp for around 200 girls. Visiting two to three schools a day and training adults as leaders. This year Ruth also visited more rural communities to spread the guiding philosophy, this included a trip to the island of Kadavu which has no electricity.

She said: "Many of the places we visit are quite poor in relation to here in the UK, it is all about sustainable development. "There is no point in us going over to introduce specific material that we normally use at home because the finances are just not there. However, while the material aspects of guiding are different the guiding philosophy is the same."

While each trip only lasts for three weeks or so, the project is a long-term thing with Ruth and fellow guides keeping in touch and communicating within the project throughout the year.

"We keep in touch with the people we have worked with throughout the world to see how they are getting on and with the project being a five year scheme, a guiding member who I brought over this year will go back as a leader next year."

Ruth's involvement has now ended as her role gets passed onto someone else. While still playing a part in the scheme from these shores, Ruth is certainly keen to return to the islands: "Fiji is infectious! I think I'll return at some point, the people are so friendly and happy."