Cub Scouts hold annual camp in Burrell Boom

It may not be as lush and mysterious as the rain forests of the Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo districts, but the area comprising Camp Oakley near Burrell Boom is a reasonable substitute for the purpose of getting away from the city. This week I joined some adventurous young people as they experienced the joys of camping.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
These boy and girls, all between the ages of six and ten years old, are members of the Cub Scout movement. For the past four days the young troopers have been living at Camp Oakley, the scouts official camping and training grounds in Burrell Boom.

Every summer scouts of all ages pack up their gear and head out to Camp Oakley to spend a week experiencing challenges designed to develop them into strong and well rounded individuals. This year there are fifty-seven children attending the nineteenth National Cub Scout Camp. The different packs represented are the 9th Belize St. Ignatius, 4th Belize Wesley, 22nd Belize St. Luke, 31st Belama Cub Pact, 18th Belize Burrell Boom, 26th Cayo Bishop Martin, and 1st Cayo Sacred Heart.

Accompanying the Scouts to camp are their pack leaders, venture scouts, and other volunteers. Some parents also attend to lend a helping hand.

Jose Pott, Volunteer, 19th Cub Scout Camp
“Their objective of the camp is to expose kids to new alternative constructive ways of, you know, utilising their energies.”

And those energies extend to a wide range of personal growth.

Alexis Magarro, 9 years old
“So that I can meet a lot of friends and become even more friendlier. Because before I join the Cub Scout I was kind of mean, but now that I join the Cub Scouts for three years now I am kind of friendly to everybody I meet.”

Ten year olds Mario Rodriguez and Ceajay Martinez say they have not only made a lot of friends, but that the experience has also helped them to be more responsible.

Jacqueline Godwin
“Do you have chores to do at home?”

Ceajay Martinez, 10 years old
“Yes.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“What are your chores? What do you need to do when you are home?”

Ceajay Martinez
“Clean the house, clean outside, and spread the bed.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“And how you?”

Mario Rodriquez, 10 years old
“Wash the dishes, sweep, clean the room, sweep outside, and chop the grass.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“Since you have been in Cub Scouts how has it helped you to do your chores better? You find that mommy and daddy have to tell you every single day to do the same thing over and over?”

Ceajay Martinez
“No, because they help you and they make it easier for you to do the work.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“You make sure you do it to the best of your ability?”

Mario Rodriquez
“When I deh home, I do it and my parents tell me how to do it and I just follow them and they help me.”

Although the camp is geared towards adventure and fun, discipline is also part of the experience.

Mario Rodriquez
“The punishment is really like very hard. Sometimes once you do something not so really bad, they give you about ten push ups and if you do something really bad like a big fight or so then they give you about fifty or twenty.”

The children will return home on Friday with plenty of memories and stories to tell the family. But as much fun as the Cub Scouts appear to have, there’s still room for more participation.

Yasmin Hulse, Camp Chief, 19th Cub Scout Camp
“Parents are not pushing their child to join. Some kids are really interested because I noticed it in my group. Some children come and ask me questions, but when they go home to their parents, their parents are not interested to send them back to join the group.”

Francesca Frampton, 8 years old
“I will tell them that how they should join it. It is very fun and Cub Scout is not only for boys; it is for boys and girls.”

On July twenty-eighth, the older children will get their chance when the National Scout Camp gets underway, also at Camp Oakley. Over a hundred scouts are expected to participate.