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County of Greater London South West
Annual Reports and Accounts 2002
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International Report
Again I am pleased to report that the numbers of Scouts and Venture Scouts has increased this year, although the number of trips taken was fewer than last year. Nearly three hundred members from the County went abroad and this included two parties of Cubs. There has been an increase in the number of Cubs going abroad, mainly due to the packages offered by Venture Abroad to Disneyland Paris.
Several people in the County have availed themselves of the packages offered by Venture Abroad and JEKA and the reports that I have had is that they are well organised and supported at local level. These packages are an ideal opportunity to help the smaller Groups wishing to go abroad or those trying for the first time.
Last year I reported that there was a party of Leaders and Venture Scouts going to the Seychelles in the summer. In the end the party consisted of fifteen Venture Scouts and six leaders. The Seychellois made us very welcome and we had a marvellous time. We stayed with them at their National Sports Centre and visited four of the nearby islands, La Dique, Praslin, Silloutte and St Anne's. On some of these islands we undertook some environmental projects with the Seychellois Scouts as well as some sight seeing. We also visited, on the main island, an orphanage which the Seychelles Scout Association help to support, and whilst we were unable to do any work at the orphanage we spent a few hours entertaining the young Scouts who were very keen to show us their home. We came back with several ideas of how we can continue to support them. We have issued them an invitation to come to England, which whilst they were very keen to do so, will rely on them funding their travel costs.
This year there has already been a steady request for Going Abroad packs and this includes a return trip to Kenya for the Raynes Park Venture Scout Unit and a trip to Nepal from the Edgehill Venture Scout Unit. Wallington and Carshalton & Sutton Districts are playing hosts to PAGGS this year. PAGGS is a long-standing liaison between Scout Groups in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Holland and recently the Czech republic. This has evolved from the Town Twinning arrangements of the Borough.
For those of you who have had time to digest the new programme you will have found that there is a greater emphasis on the International dimensions and over the next twelve months more programme material will no doubt be available to support this.
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