This year, for the first time, the Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago moved its annual national camp out of the country, taking 21 scouts to Guyana.
Jorrel Bisnath, the camp contingent leader and deputy national scout commissioner in charge of training and adult resources explained the core element of the scouting programme was having young people outdoors. There they work in small groups to perform tasks, face challenges and experience adventure.
This year the local Scout Association approached the Scout Association of Guyana, which invited the TT association to join in its Incident Exhibition. The TT association also asked for an extended camp so the members of both could camp, interact and engage together.
The national camp took place from August 8-16 and engaged 21 scouts ages 11-19, six scout leaders and one volunteer parent, a doctor.
“It’s a new initiative. In the past we would have done national camps in our country, but we are looking now to provide opportunities for young people to travel and explore.
[caption id="attachment_1105265" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Venture scout Denille Wilson and her fellow scouts in front of the Guyana Marine Turtle Monument in Georgetown, Guyana. Photo courtesy Denille Wilson. -[/caption]
“We also wanted our young people to get a chance to visit another country and understand how scout practices in TT translate across cultures and environments.”
The three-day exhibition took place on a private retreat with thick, forested areas in Dora. There they were given exercises, certain imagined situations and challenges they had to deal with and overcome.
Bisnath explained they were divided into groups of three and, among other things, their members had to carry their rations, prepare their own meals, build campsites, navigate and complete the exercises.
For example, in one scenario one of their members was injured and the other two had to determine ways to transport that person. Another was a flash flood in which they had to find higher ground for themselves and their equipment in 15 minutes.
[caption id="attachment_1105261" align="alignnone" width="768"] TT scouts pose outside St George's Cathedral, Georgetown, while biking around Guyana's capital city. Photos courtesy Scouts Association of TT. -[/caption]
He recalled on the first night of the exhibition, both sets of scouts had to walk through the forest at night, find kindling and light a fire as a team, even though most of the area was damp and muddy because rain had fallen earlier that day.
He said it was a shock for the TT scouts to see the Guyanese scouts cutting down small trees or saplings.
“It was a first for our scouts, because we don’t do that in Trinidad, because of the safety issues we are presented with here, as well as our limited forest resources. It was eye-opening for them. It was a different kind of engagement.”
In addition to the exhibition, the TT scouts toured the cities of Georgetown and Linden, and the Essequibo River. The TT Ministry of Foreign Affairs also assisted
