More than 300 representatives from girls’ and boys’ brigades across Rarotonga converged on Ngatangiia Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) on Sunday morning to witness the commissioning of the Ngatangiia Girls’ Brigade.

A combined brigade saw uniformed congregations march to the church.

Brigade officer Maru Mariri-Tepou said there are 27 females in the new company.

With challenges and obstacles it took 47 years to realise and commission Ngatangiia Girls’ Brigade since the last Rarotonga Girls Brigade company was commissioned back in June 1974 when the Nikao Girls’ Brigade Company was launched.

Mariri-Tepou said Ngatangiia has traditionally been a very strong Girl Guides village.

“There is a protocol to follow in order to set up a branch.”

She said the new company meet every Monday for training.

“We have a motto, to seek and to serve; one of our aims is to train young women and girls in our villages to give back to the community and be humble.

“There has always been a need to have one set up here in Ngatangiia.”

Girls’ Brigade was established in Ireland in 1893 and focuses around pioneering women in more than 50 countries across the world, joined by a shared sense of God’s call to empower girls to discover God’s transforming love and power in their lives.