Scouts return from 100th anniversary jamboree
They call themselves “the largest and most positive worldwide organisation for building good citizens that the world has ever seen” … and who could argue with the Scouts? Today eleven local troopers and their leader returned home after taking part in their one hundredth world jamboree in London, England. We caught up with three of them today in Belize City.
Cindy August, Scout Member
“We finally get to meet Prince William; he was there present for the ceremony as well. We went to the castle, we went and toured the castle—well not really tour into the castle, well you know, we went outside and it was very good.”
Marion Ali
“What kind of activities did you all take part in and which was your favourite?”
Cindy August
“My favourite was the Gilwell park where we go and do different activities like, you know, how do you call this—we climb very high then, and we like throw ourselves down. And I stayed like almost half an hour up there before I throw myself down cause it was so scary, it was so high. We went kayaking as well and I was the first one to turn over and the water was so cold you know” [Laughs]
Timothy Cal, Scout Member
“It was fine and I enjoyed it and all the activities that was there. We did quite alright and we meet new friends and they share ideas to us that will make you be a better person in the future.”
Marion Ali
“Has this solidified your commitment to scouting? Will you continue to be a Scout through adolescence to adulthood?”
Timothy Cal, Scout Member
“I will, because through the experience, what I’m doing and what I’m learning I will continue to help younger people.”
Luigi Heredia, Delegation leader
“We attended this jamboree with over forty thousand scouts from different countries worldwide. Actually there were a hundred and fifty-eight countries that attended this world jamboree, making it the largest world jamboree ever held—being the twenty-first—and also the largest jamboree of youths together.”
“We camped in an area of three thousand scouts. They divided by sub-camps right, three thousand scouts which they separated by different countries to interact together and also do different projects together of peace. We did service projects in the local area in England and we did activities together and also we had a World Peace Day where we visited different booths such as UNICEF, you know, the different agencies that promote peace.”
The theme of the jamboree was One World One Promise. While in England, the group also went on a tour of London, sponsored by the British High Commission.
Three of the participants in the jamboree were able to attend through scholarships provided by the international Scouts organisation. One of the administrators of that programme was National Scouts Executive Humberto Riveroll.
Hiberto Riverol, National Scout Executive
“We know that there are hundreds of scouts worldwide who would not have the opportunity to attend a jamboree because of financial difficulties, so associations from around the world contribute additional funds and they created Operations One World, for the sole purpose of providing scholarships to scouts that could not attend due to financial difficulties. In particularly for the Inter-American Region, which is Central America, South America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada, we gave a total of sixty-three scholarships. And those scouts that went under the scholarships, it was my responsibility to ensure that they were well taken care of at the jamboree and that their needs were met during and after the jamboree.”
It normally costs around five thousand three hundred dollars per scout to attend their annual jamboree.
