The village of Opechki of the Stolbtsy District, in the Minsk Region, looks forward to welcoming visitors from the Belarusian Republican Scout Association (BRSA) every year. The scouts are not only the dear guests of the village, but also friends and patrons of the local area. They not only train here, but also take a good care of the local forest and help local people. They sing with true pride “…If I’m the true scout I won’t be lost anywhere!” Same happened here.As tradition demands, the camp was blessed by Father Andrei Netsvetayev, the rector of the Minsk-based Andrei the First Called Church.
By the way, this summer guests from foreign countries came to the tent camp to share the experience in extreme scouting. Scouts from Polish Lotaria, Ukrainians from the Crimea visited Belarus as old friends, while scouts from Russia’s Omsk paid a return visit: the Belarusians had visited the faraway Russian city to address the jubilee forum in Britain.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, the founder of the world Scouting Movement, testing his ideas on a camping trip on Brownsea Island almost 100 years ago, in 1907. His book “Aids to Scouting”, written for military scout training, was also used by boys. In 1908 he rewrote it as “Scouting for Boys” for youth readership after, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting. The movement that now numbers 50 million, will send 50,000 best scouts to Gymboree next year.
The president of the Belarusian association, Igor Kostevich, is certain Belarusians will show their worth in the UK.
— There will be lots of tournaments in Britain, including equestrian sport, hang gliding, and archery, house building from straw and clay, river crossing in canoes and boats and wading. We are going to be ready, as we have a perfect training camp on the Neman.
The feast in Gymboree will not just be a set of sporting events, for many public figures and community leaders will participate. They all once swore to follow the laws of scouting, especially this one: “The scout is a friend to anyone and brother to any other scout!”
I learned a lot from them. Before you become a scout you got to pass a set of procedures, learn scout laws, the history of scouting, the anthem, the strategy of the movement, ways to make a fire and a strong knot.
Everything has a meaning in their life. The tie may be used as a filter for water, a bandana to protect you on a sunny day and a tourniquet.
The Belarusian scouting community is worthy, romantic and daring. They all have what it takes to become a world scout.
by Inna Bogayevskaya
