www.scout.org/africa

February 2012

Kudumail News from the Africa Scout Region

Inside

Highlight Remembering the Founder

Page 1

From NSOs News from Togo and rest of Africa.

Page 2

Community Development

Scouting and environment, the experience of Nelson Ochieng

Page 4

Events

calendar

Africa counting down to Africa Scout Day 2012.

15th Africa Conference.

6th Africa Jamboree.

Page 4

Remembering the Founder

From ARO Africa the last home of the Founder

Messengers of Peace Support Fund 2012

Page 3

© W

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NYERI - The 22nd day of February is a very important day in the history of Scouting. Scouts from all over the world gather in various places to celebrate the birthday of the father and founder of Scouting, Lord Baden Powell who was born on 22nd February 1857. Coincidentally, his wife, Lady Olave Powell, who is the Chief Guide of the world, shares the same birthday.

This special day is also referred to as World Thinking Day as it is the occasion for Scouts and Guides around the world to remember that they are part of worldwide Movements and an opportunity to acknowledge their fellow brother and sister Scouts and Guides without whom the Movements would not exist. It is also the occasion to remember and renew the Promise that every Scout or Guide makes.

This year’s Founderee in Nyeri, attracted 29 other countries from both inside and outside Africa, such as, Burundi, Ethiopia, India, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.Organized by the Kenya Scouts Association (KSA), the participants were involved in a four-day Customary pre-camp at the Kabiruini Agricultural Show ground that took place from the 15th to the 18th with a climax of the Founder’s day celebrations on the 19th.

The events are usually programmed around the nearest weekend to BP’s birthday to make it convenient for Scouts and volunteers alike. On Sunday, February 19, the entire gathering went on a celebratory march from Paxtu (the residence where Lord Baden-Powell spent his last days) to the BP Memorial Park (grave site) as a key part and conclusion of the Founderee event.

Hon. Eugene Wamalwa, member and Treasurer of the World Scout Parliamentary Union, graced the colorful event. With other guests from our sister organization, the Girl Guides, regional administrators and Mr. Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama, The Regional Director, World Scout Bureau, Africa Regional Office who said that an agreement has been reached at the world level to have an International Scout Centre in Nyeri with the aim of making Nyeri the ultimate Scouting destination.

Lord Baden Powell spent his last days in Nyeri, Kenya and in his will, chose to be buried there. He died on 8th January 1941. His wife Lady Olave died 36 years later and was buried beside her husband. Many Scouts make a pilgrimage to Kenya to pay their respects to the father of Scouting during these celebrations.

Angola

2012

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© 2012 World Scout Bureau – Africa Regional Office

Togo: Renewed efforts to raise the profile of Scouting.

LOME – From 12th to 15th January 2012, in an effort to improve the image of Scouting and to strengthen the capacity of Scout leaders nationally in the fields of publishing and external relations, a national forum on communication took place at the National Scout Headquarters in Lomé, Togo. This forum brought together 17 Scouts from different regions of the country.

© Togo Scouts 2012

The three-day event saw participants take part in-group presentations and working sessions under the leadership of Kady Boroze, the National Commissioner of Publication and Public Relations, other moderators and forum sponsors.

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FOCUS ON NSOs

Ethiopia and Kenya represent Africa in Korea

Scouts from Kenya and Ethiopia travelled to Seoul, Korea for an experience of a lifetime that was aimed at promoting cultural exchange among the participants. The Korean Scout Association hosted their counterparts from Africa during the 2nd World Scout Parliamentary Union’s (WSPU) Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) that took place from the 12th-21st January 2012.

The eight-day programme included debates, group discussions, and field visits. The debate was centered on the role of young people (Scouts) in today’s society focusing on their day-to-day challenges. During the group discussion sessions, the participants had the opportunity to voice their opinions on the importance of youth participation, explaining the system and structures that are currently in place in their countries to encourage youth participation. Scouts visited some of the modern buildings and companies, like the MBC Broadcasting company offices and Yuksam (Building 63), the tallest building in Seoul.

They also traveled to Gyeongju, in the southeastern part of the country to see some of the relics of the Kingdom of Shilla and finally the Taebaek, a snow sports resort, in the northeast of South Korea.The Scouts were privileged to meet Hon. Chung Ui Hwa, WSPU’s President who praised the global Scouting community as an excellent example of young people coming together in a peaceful and cooperative manner to create a better future for everyone.

The WSPU is an international organization that seeks to unite Scout-oriented parliamentarians from all over the world, bringing them into closer contact with the World Scout Movement. Its objective is to strengthen both National Scout Organizations and World Scouting through the influence of parliamentarians who believe in Scouting as an effective non-formal educational method and Movement. One of its aims is to encourage the formation of National Scout Parliamentary Associations (NSPAs) and through these NSPAs, the WSPU hopes to open doors and give the Scout Movement access to decision-makers involved in problems directly concerning young people and the communities in which they live.

© WSPU/KSPA C. Revkin 2012

Seventeen Young People Represent Africa in Sharjah

Against the backdrop of “Scouting and young people with special needs,” the 5th International youth gathering took place on 4th–14th February 2012 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E). It was organized by the Emirates Scouts in conjunction with the World Scout Bureau, Arab Regional Office, under the patronage of H.E Dr. Sultan Bin Shaik Mohammad El-Qasemmi. The meeting saw the participation of 105 Scouts from all over the world, with 17 young people from the Africa Scout Region (Botswana, Burkina Faso Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe.)

With the main aim of increasing awareness, knowledge and skills of the participants on how to live with the disabled, the Scouts were taken through workshops, lectures, and excursions that were centered on creating awareness on the role of Scouts and the disabled, cultural exchange and development of friendships.

©Romanian Scouts 2012

The 22-year old David Stelio Jorge Mula represented the Maputo Unit of the Scouts of Mozambique. He is a student at the Commercial Institute and a volunteer in various activities that involves people with disability in Mozambique. Having vast experience on working with disabled people in his country, he shared his experiences on how the Scouts support young people who, in spite of their disabilities, actively participate in their communities.

Scouts around the world are in the business of making the world a better place. They have been involved in various activities that seek to improve the livelihoods of those around them with the recent one being working with the physically handicapped. Many National Scout Organizations have started recruiting disabled Scouts while others have added lessons on working with the disabled in their curriculum.

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© 2012 World Scout Bureau – Africa Regional Office

Leader Training Courses in the Africa Region

Country Name of Course Date

Burkina Faso Wood Badge 24 to 31March 2012

Gambia Assistant Leader Trainer

Leader Trainer

12 April 2012(dates to be Advised

December 2012(dates to be advised)

Namibia Cub Wood badge

Commissioners Course

24 to 27May 2012

10 to 12 March 2012

Sierra Leone Wood Badge February 2012

Zimbabwe Advanced Wood Badge

15 to 21 April 2012

Tanzania Wood badge Course

16- 25 June 2012

FROM THE REGIONAL OFFICE

Africa the last home of the Founder of Scouting

At about 150 kilometers away from the Africa Regional Office of World Scouting, in Nairobi, stands PAXTU, the last residence of the Founder of Scouting, Lord Baden Powell. Towards the sunset of his fulfilled life, the Chief Scout of the World had chosen to retire at the foot of Mount Kenya, in the area of the Central Highlands Region, in Nyeri where he first visited in 1927. He built a special bungalow (PAXTU) that still exists to date and is visited by tourists and Scouts from all over the world. It is a modest residence: a living room with large windows, two bedrooms and two small bathrooms, the garden which surrounds it has jacarandas (African trees with blue flowers), the terrace offers a splendid sight of the mountains and the whole set up confirms Lord Baden-Powell's preference for life in outdoors.

It is in his 'African' house that he passed on peacefully in the morning of July 8, 1941. In accordance with the wish of Lady Olave, and his own predilection, he was buried at the Nyeri cemetery, where his remains rest hitherto, and not at the Abbey of Westminster, the British Pantheon where the dean had reserved a site for him. Today, PAXTU has been transformed into a museum and shelters various objects that are of interest to the Scout Movement, especially countless written messages of the Scouts who have visited the place. Nyeri remains the home of the worldwide Scout Movement, with members of the Movement congregating in the town from time to time for various activities and functions. The Africa Scout Region is working towards turning Nyeri into the ultimate world Scouting destination, in the foot trail of the Founder.

Messengers of Peace Support Fund 2012

Funding allocations have been made for each of the six Regions based on the needs of scout constituencies with the region. Application Forms and guidance documents are available now on http://www.scout.org/mop_supportfund currently in English, with other languages to follow.There will be additional information related to unique considerations that may apply to implementation of Messengers of Peace. The Regional Office is the main point of contact for any questions related to the Messengers of Peace Support Fund. It is important to emphasize that project funding will be awarded based on the merits of each individual project. Specific criteria are used to evaluate projects, including subject area, the number of direct and indirect beneficiaries, and project outcomes. The best-designed and most impactful projects are expected to compete against each other for funding, with a final determination made by the Regional Decision Committee for projects under USD 25,000 and, upon the recommendations of the Regional Decision Committee, by the Joint Executive Committee at world level for projects above USD 25,000.

The Messengers of Peace team will launch a monthly electronic newsletter next month to highlight important activities, developments, and events. Individuals interested in subscribing to this newsletter may do so using an online subscription function on the new Messengers of Peace Website http://scoutmessengers.com/

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© 2012 World Scout Bureau – Africa Regional Office

Memorable quote “I would encourage young people to join the world movement of Scouting to address the challenges that face Africa today.” ~ Eugene Wamalwa, member and Treasurer of the World Scout Parliamentary Union. (Speaking in Nyeri during the Founder’s Day Celebrations 2012)

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Scouting and environment, the experience of Nelson Ochieng

Environment protection is a key component of Scouting. It is for this reason that Scouts attended the 17th Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) Conference that took place from 6th November to 16th December 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

Among them was Nelson Ochieng, a Scout from Kenya, who was part of the UN-Habitat sponsored Youth Team that drove to Durban from Nairobi. For him, this was an experience of a lifetime as he was engaged in the concerts and the climate awareness talks that were done in all the countries that the caravan stopped.

Before then, this 24-year-old Sea Scout, together with his Rover Scout group, the Kenya Ports Authority Rovers, had just launched the Uwezo Youth Development Project in Mombasa, Kenya. A community based organization that focuses on environment conservation, peace building, community development and youth empowerment.

The current focus of the organization is on environment conservation thanks to the partnership between the organization and ERMIS Africa. With this, climate action teams have been formed and young people who are out of schools have been trained in developing climate change adaptation solutions targeted at reaching the community and income generation for the youth through the sale of fuel products made from waste paper.

Africa counting down to Africa Scout Day celebrations

The Africa Scout Day celebrations will take place on the 13th of March 2012 around the continent where each of the 37 National Scout Organizations will conduct a program under the banner:‘Educate, Transform, Develop’. With the main celebrations in Luanda, Angola, over three hundred young Scouts from different National Scout Organizations are expected to participate and they will share a rich programme, based on the Scout Method.As the countdown continues, registration is still open for those who are interested in visiting the 2012 Africa’s capital of Scouting. Furthermore, during the opening ceremony about 2000 Angolan Scouts will be present. Angola is issuing courtesy visas for those planning to attend the 6th Africa Scout Youth Forum and the 15th Africa Scout Conference. They should send their scanned passports by 20th April 2012 to: kikasmax@gmail.com.

For more details visit:http://scout.org/en/around_the_world/africa/information_events/news/2011/africa_scout_day_2012_educate_transform_develop

EVENT DATES COUNTRY

Africa Scout Day 13th March 2012 (Angola 9 -12)

All African Countries (Main host: Angola)

6th Africa Youth Forum 1-4th June 2012 Angola

15th Africa Regional Conference 6-9th June 2012 Angola

6th Africa Regional Jamboree 28th July - 5th August 2012

Burundi