Scouting around for good conduct

When British Army officer Robert Baden-Powell held the first Scout camp in England in 1907, he could never have imagined how popular the movement would become.

There are millions of Scouts in the United States, Indonesia, India and the Philippines and hundreds of thousands in countries as diverse as Kenya, Korea, Pakistan and Germany.

Similar camps to Baden-Powell's first one, are organised by Scout groups in almost every nation on earth - including the UAE. There are Scout groups in several of the Emirates, each of which follows the British, American, Indian or Emirati system.

Among them is the 3rd Dubai Scout Troop, which uses the UK system and has more than 30 boys aged between 10 and 14. The group is based at The English College, Dubai.

The majority of the boys in the group are British, but there are also members from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Jordan.

Gil Costain-Salway, Scout Leader of the 3rd Dubai, described scouting as 'character-building' and said it also taught the boys about how to be tolerant of those of other religions and nationalities.

"It is about teaching them understanding of other people - they learn by mixing. The boys become more confident and they enjoy what they do. That's the bottom line - we have to have fun," she said.

"And all the Scout groups in the UK and elsewhere seem to be booming. They did undergo a bit of a slump, but they're very popular again now."

Although the Scouts are the best known part of the movement, there are many other branches for boys of different ages.

For those aged from about six to eight there are the Beavers, followed by the Cubs for eight to ten-year-olds, and then Scouts for boys from 10 to 14. After the Scouts comes the Explorers, which takes boys up to the age of 18. The 3rd Dubai Scout Troop has associated Cubs and Explorers Troops. There is a parallel movement for girls called the Guides which was founded by Baden-Powell's younger sister Agnes in 1909 after many girls showed interest in joining the Scouts. The Guides have junior branches called the Rainbows and the Brownies, and a section for older girls with the imaginative name Senior Section.

Camps

In some countries, Scout groups now include both girls and boys, but in the UAE only boys are involved in the Scouts and only girls in the Guides.

Scouts learn all sorts of things such as how to light fires or use and maintain a saw. They might also find themselves hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing and even rifle shooting.

"We also try to teach them basic skills like cooking - things that the girls think only they do," added Gil. Many of the activities of Scouts are geared towards earning badges that can be sown on their uniforms.

"There is a whole array of badges that some people roll their eyes at. There are badges for swimming, IT, art, handyman work and entertainment for example - they have scope to try virtually anything as there are 74 badges in total," said David Sims, one of three Assistant Scout Leaders in the 3rd Dubai. As with most Scout troops, the 3rd Dubai meets for one evening every week and in addition holds camps in the UAE in November and February.

Recently Gil and David spent 12 days with four boys in an overseas camp on the Isle of Man. On August 1, they took part in a centenary breakfast with around 600 other Scouts, Scout leaders and former Scouts.