Encompass Issue 52 – May 2013 - Kawana Scouts

INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURESSalam Pramuka!Scouts Australia sponsored 3 parcipants to aend theInternaonal Scout Peace Camp held in Indonesia from 24th-30thMarch. The camp was an iniave of the Messengers of Peaceproject, which involves individuals and NSOs in peace-buildingacvies. 135 Internaonal parcipants from 31 countries metwith 485 scouts from across Indonesian in Cibubur, Jakarta, toexpand and develop the Peace Network by promong internaonalfriendship and increasingparcipants’ culturalunderstanding.The camp began with athree-day off-site acvitywhere parcipants weretransported across Java tothree different villages for acultural immersionexperience. My group travelled to Sukaratu village in Bantenprovince, about 5 hours south-west of Jakarta, where we received agrand recepon: smiling villagers lined the streets, including hoardsof neatly-dressed school children, laughing and waving as wepassed. Aer a whirlwind of welcome dances we were allocated toa homestay family. Mrs Ti, a dressmaker, and her thirteen-yearolddaughter welcomed my Indonesian friends Rie, Sherly and I intotheir modest home, where we were happily absorbed into theirdaily lifestyle. We slept on roll-out mats in the lounge room,embraced the 4am call-to-prayer roune, and were treated toflavorsome home-cooked cuisine. Eang salty-sweet fried rice andfish for breakfast did take some geng used to!parcipaon in a Global Development Village workshop, wherescouts viewed displays from NGOs, sharing ideas aboutEnvironment, Youth and Populaon and Health. Parcipantsdiscussed scoung’s role as a catalyst for social change andcontribute to society’s development. Unfortunately I was unable toaend the last three program days, however, my fellow parcipantsassured me of their success.Scoung in Indonesia is structured quite differently to Australianscoung in that it is a gender-segregated school-based movement.It is a religious organizaon whose principles promote Naonalloyalty, and parcipaon by school students is compulsory. Localscouts were delighted to engage in badge swapping and werefascinated by stories of scoung overseas, as many have never hadthe financial means to travel.The Peace Camp was a unique once-in-a-lifeme opportunity tomeet Rovers from across the globe and to experience an authencside of Indonesian culture. Our hosts showed great kindness andgenerosity, and with such an environment of friendship, learningand cultural acceptance, the camp certainly lived up to its theme of‘Scoung Builds Peace’.Laura Powe (Kite) –Rover – St John’s Wood Rover Crew, andAssistant Scout Leader - Wilston Scout Group.2 ND TOOWOOMBASCOUTS TO FEATUREIN VIDEO FORUNESCO.A diverse acvity program had us traversing the countryside onmany adventures with our new scoung friends. For the Culturecomponent of the program, we milked the cows before sunrise,wandered through tranquil tea fields, tried our luck at fishing,played local instruments, and twirled into the night with lessons intradional dance and maral arts. In a pilgrimage to nearby PadangMountain, we climbed the steps to the breathtaking historicalmountaintop, scaered with rectangular stones older than thepyramids of Giza. In true scoung style, I also enjoyed a memorableride on a buffalo plough through a rice paddock in knee-deep mud.Aer all, what would a scoutcamp be without muddyancs?On 19 th April Mr Haniff fromthe Pure Land College MulfaithMulcultural Centrevisited 2 nd Toowoomba. His assistant and himself came to interviewthe Scouts for a Video that will be presented in Paris at theupcoming UNESCO.Mr Haniff said the (Pure Land Learning College) have been invitedto The UNESCO peace conference in Paris At the Conference weare sharing what there is in Toowoomba. We are showcasing ourCity as a good model of peace and harmony. Hence we areproducing a video clip. We will be taking clips of others as well suchas teachers and community leaders.We visited a local school aspart of our CommunityService, where we walkedon slts and playedtradional schoolyard gameswith the young children. The Western visitors were constantlyapproached in the streets for photographs, and even autographs.The remote village rarely receives travellers, let alone hundreds ofscouts, so we were instant celebries.Mr Haniff commented that Last Friday’s Scoung event had a lot toshow, "character development in the making, family unity, andcommunity spirit. In Toowoomba we note, the scouts, communityorganisaon, our schools and leaders are all doing their bits to buildthis city that thrives on trust and harmonious living. A video cancarry this message.”2 nd Toowoomba Scouts encourages its members to be cizens ofthe wider community and being part of this project is very excing.The second phase of the program was a Peace Forum and3