Scouting is a Way of Life

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Scouting is a Way of Life
a view from a venturer

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Being brought up as a scout, I practically live by the way of the scout. The result of that, people some times associated “pramuka” with me, which is fine. But then, sometimes I feel like I didn’t deserve that title. To some, i might seems that I do live by the code, but there are times that I bend the code... Going back to the real reason I write this essay, I will babble on the History of Scouting, then I’ll gab on it’s current condition, and for the finale, my own personal feelings on the topic. So let’s get this thing going!

Scouting is..
Scouting Is...Education for Life, a Movement for Youth, International, Open to All, Fun with a Purpose, a Challenge for Adults, Voluntary, Non-Political, Non-Governmental.
Scouting is...a Method containing the principal of making a personal commitment, learning by doing, and working in groups.
Scouting is...a Code of Living
Scouts are Meeting Real Needs, From the Community, By the Community, For the Community
Scouts are involved in...Every aspect of living

A Brief History of Scouting
Scouting start as an outdoor program for boys. In the beginning, scouting is not even an organization, as it will never will be one. The founder of scouting, Lord Baden Powell, a war hero, notorious for the Boer War in the city of Mafeking, South Africa. As a scout(military scout unit) he write a book on teaching soldiers techniques such as observation, tracking, initiative, etc called “Aid to Scouting” which was intended for military training manual. When he returned to England, he discovered that his book, which was intended for the military, are being read by teenage. After some time, he tryout his method of scouting to 4 troops from London and Bournemouth at a camp on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, Dorset. Seing that his method are working, he then go about to publised a teen version of “Aid to Scouting” called “Scouting for Boys”.
As early as 1908 the Scouting Movement are expanding it’s horizon, from geographic point of view where the Movement go from South Africa to England to Chile to the US and eventually to Indonesia. Then it also expand it’s membership by allowing younger boys (less than 11) to join the Movement as a Wolf Cub, and older boys (older that 18) as a Rover Scouts, not to be left behind, the girls are directed to a sister movement called WAGGGS (The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) run by BP sister and wife. As BP once said, “It (Scouting.ed) is a movement, because it moves forward. As soon as it stops moving, it becomes an Organization, and is no longer Scouting.”
Sadly BP died in 1941 after moving to Kenya on 1938. He left as the First and Only World Scout Chief. In his Belonging he left a message to the Scouts all around the world. For me, his message are so touching and moving, that it self make me do what the massage told. But his lost is not holding the Movement to move on and accomplished a lot of achievement over the century.

Scouting Today

Today, the Scout Movement have more than half-a-billion members. With that number of members, The WOSM (World Organization of Scout Movement) are only a body that organize things in International level, and are working in cooperation with Scout Movement around the world, or usually referred as NSO (National Scout Organization). There’s alot of things going on right now, as the Scout Centenary are closing by the days, such as a regional level Jamboree in Thailand, and there is also a Gift-for-Peace, a program that is encouraging Every Scout in the world making a contribution towards peace to mark the 100th anniversary of Scouting. There is also the International Peace Day every 21st of September, initiated by the Scout Movement, then there’s also the 21st World Jamboree on Chelmsford Hylands Park in Essex, UK.
 Even with an event list that impressive, the Scout Movement, in my opinion are a bit sluggish adopting to the needs of the current boys.