International Shorts : October 2009

SOLIDARITY WITH HAITI:

International Scout Aid is being coordinated by the Scouts of Haiti, supported by the Scouts et Guides de France and the World Scout Bureau (WSB). The WSB is coordinating the support coming from National Scout Organisations (NSO’s) and handling the international call for donations, as well as relationships with international humanitarian aid agencies.

Having experienced the difficult consequences of many natural disasters, the Haitian Scouts have acquired expertise that they have put at the disposal of the people of Haiti. Hundreds of Scouts have been involved in the rescue efforts and provided other assistance to the stricken population:

• Scouts of Jacmel have helped local firemen to find and rescue victims trapped under rubble – they have also helped in the distribution of food and water to the victims.

• Scouts of Saint-Marc have put in place a makeshift clinic which provides primary care to the injured victims coming from Port-au-Prince.

• Scouts of the Saint-George group and Caleb have helped over 2000 survivors to reach the borders of the Dominican Republic in their personal cars so that the wounded may be treated, despite the cost of petrol. Through local committees, the two groups have been able to provide many of the survivors with food and shelter in their own homes.

• Scouts of the Gideon de Carrefour group have pulled out about 300 bodies from under the debris and saved about 725 victims. They have hand-fabricated coffins for the dozen Scouts who died and they have undertaken the difficult but necessary task of digging a communal trench to bury 150 of the deceased individuals.

The mission sent by the Scouts et Guides de France joined the Red Cross convoy which initially met with representatives of MINUSTAH (UN). Their primary task was to link up with Haitian Scouting and establish partnerships with the UN agencies on site. In Geneva, WOSM works to provide support through the United Nations agencies (OCHA, UNICEF, UNHCR) and the Red Cross.

A special account has been opened by the World Scout Bureau. Food aid, essential hygiene supplies, medicines and first aid materials will be purchased by the Haitian Scouts locally in order to minimise the cost of transportation and storage. However, as always in situations of humanitarian crises, emergency action is followed by a long period of rehabilitation and reconstruction.

The Scouts of Haïti will be playing a key role and will need our help. NSO’s interested in assisting the relief and reconstruction efforts should contact the WSB focal point haiti-solidarity@scout.org. Online donations can also be made at: http://www.scout.org/solidarite-haiti

Alternatively, we can support the action of humanitarian agencies such as the Red Cross and/or UNICEF, both long-standing partners of the Scout Movement, who are organised and have the necessary infrastructure to coordinate the support to Haiti.

A special blog http://www.scout.org/blogs has been created to enable us to follow the developments of the relief efforts, and the work of the Haitian Scouts.

SCOUTS OF THE WORLD (SOW) PROJECT

ScoutsWA conducted its very first Scouts of the World Discovery coinciding with JOTA/JOTI on 17/18th October, 2009. The weekend workshop, held at the Peter Hughes Communications Centre in East Cannington, was attended by 10 youth members and facilitated by 3 Branch Commissioners.

On Saturday night participants spoke with scouts in Malta, Ecuador, Switzerland, Pakistan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Canada, UK, USA (Alaska), and Sweden about their environmental concerns, identifying pollution and global warming/climate change as key issues. And on Sunday morning, recent natural disasters such as the Indonesian earthquake, Indian floods, Samoan earthquake and tsunami, and the Victoria (Aust.) bushfires were highlighted as events requiring a coordinated disaster response.

We learned about the history and formation of several international aid organisations, including the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Save the Children Fund, World Vision, Amnesty, CARE, and the Oaktree Foundation. And we examined key international initiatives such as the World Scout Environment Program, Gifts for Peace and the Scouts of the World Award as linked to the United Nations Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals.

We remembered BP’s last message to scouts to: “Try and leave this world a little better than (we) found it…”, and World Scouting’s vision: “As a global movement, making a real contribution to creating a better world”. And we were reminded of our Duty to God, Others, and Self as enshrined in our Scout Promise, Emblem and Law. Small groups then focussed on the question of how we might go about establishing our own humanitarian aid and disaster relief project utilising our existing scouting membership and resources. A follow-up workshop was held on 3rd December, 2009 and an action plan developed for advancing the project.

Our primary task now lies in researching other organisations which already provide national and international relief with the intention of identifying existing projects (and possible gaps) and determining how we might develop a coordinated response to supporting and complementing these efforts.

We wish to acknowledge Susan Mitchell (BC Special Projects), Barbara de la Hunty (BC Program Initiatives) and Jules Rikkers (BC International) for their mentoring and ongoing support of this project.

WA Scouts International Committee (WASIC)

Nathan Bunney (Chair, ex SWAYC Chair), Rebecca Filippone (D Chair, NYC Rep.), Delshard Mozhdehinia (D Chair, ex NYC Rep.), Jayden Rikkers, Magnus Uren, Lauren Goodheart, Tahlia Batters, Michael Franke, Thomas Power, Flynn Jagoe (WABSC Chair).

SOW PROJECT UPDATE

Following the October and December workshops, WASIC met on 24th January to prepare a presentation to the CCC, originally planned for 28th January but now deferred to 23rd February. WASIC is also planning a presentation to the National Operations meeting due to be held in Perth in March. The current crisis in Haiti serves to highlight the need for developing new strategies to raise funds and mobilise scouting resources to respond to future national and international emergencies.

Jules Rikkers
BC International
Email ekta[at]iinet.net.au