The Scouts is a worldwide youth movement started in 1907 by Lord Robert Barden-Powell. It is the largest youth movement in the world with over 30 million members across 161 countries.
The Scout Movement is based on the core values: ‘duty to God, duty to others, and duty to self’.
The finds out more about what it means to be a scout…
Scouting is a value-based informal educational programme for young people helping them in achieving their full potential, to become responsible and self-reliant citizens who play a constructive role in their communities.
“The aim of Scouts of Namibia is to bring scouting to the youth of our country, making it available to all on a voluntary basis in order to contribute to their development as useful, responsible and socially conscious citizens,” said Eddie Ward, a rover (young adult) scout.
“It is a voluntary, independent, non-political, non-governmental, non-profit educational movement for youth, both male and female,” he said.
Eddie explained that there are six areas of development that are addressed when being a scout. These are spiritual, intellectual, social, physical, emotional and character development.
“All handbooks for cubs, scouts and rovers have been written around the objectives identified to ensure development in all of these areas.
“Through those developments, I believe scouting has prepared me for the future because I’ve been taught how to be prepared and what to expect in different situations. And it also improves your people skills and that is a very important skill to have,” he said.
The YouthPaper chatted to Edward Simoes, another rover, about some of the lessons he learned from being part of the scouts.
“I learned to socialise with my peers and to deal with other people as well as to take care of the environment. It is a great place to be because you discover yourself and basically pick up developmental skills as you go along,” he said.
“You learn to care for the environment around you and that is a very important lesson.”
He also said that when you have received all the badges from all the levels, you can become the leader of the group and help guide the younger members to also one day receive all their badges.
The scout kit, through its uniformity, constitutes a bond. The correct wearing of the uniform and smartness of turnout of the individual scout makes him or her a credit to the movement. It shows that he or she has pride in themselves and in the troop.
The cubs are the youngest members of the scout movement. Through a fun programme of games and activities, youngsters learn a variety of skills. These include especially social skills relating to their family and friends, personal cleanliness, responsibility and self-reliance.
The scout programme is aimed at assisting youth in the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. This is achieved through challenging, adventurous outdoor activities, in which the scouts also learn basic leadership skills.
As young adults, rovers are very sociable and highly dynamic, exploring options for the future. The rover programme caters for this, they are able to shape and plan their activities and progress according to their own needs. Strong emphasis is placed on social interactions with friends.
They have a very special role to play in scouting as a youth movement. Their life experience is invaluable to guide the youth in their development path.
Scouts of Namibia is a non-profit youth movement that aims to train and develop the youth of Namibia. Membership is open to all young people.
For more information or to join, contact 061 227974.
