Jamboree Brings People Together

 

On Friday 3rd August, a group of Basic Skills clients from Seetec's Chelmsford centre attended the 2007 Scout and Guide Jamboree at Hylands Park, Chelmsford in Essex to learn more about equality and diversity.

 

The Jamboree, which brings together scouts of all nationalities, is held every 4 years in different locations around the world. This year was extra special as it was the 21st jamboree marking the centenary of Scouting.

 

Eight clients attended as day visitors to the Jamboree and were keen to learn about the different cultures, the make up of countries and regions, the similarities between people and the different issues facing people from all over the world.

 

The day included plenty of activities including an impressive tour of Hylands House; a beautiful grade II listed building which is the focal point of Hylands Park, scout and guide shows in the main arena and games and activities hosted by different countries.

 

The group could also sample different food from around the world at the many Scout food houses. Authentic food was available from countries such as Switzerland, Mexico, Britain, Taiwan and Egypt, amongst others.

 

Louise, one of Seetec's Basic Skills Tutors and Rosiane, Employment Consultant accompanied the group and spoke to some of the scouts about their country and culture in English and Portuguese.....Rosiane is Brazilian so she was able to converse with some of the scouts in their own language.

 

The group noticed that although times had changed, the scouting organisation values were still the same; young people were still coming together from all walks of life to help communities, live off the land through camping adventures and overall, to have fun.

 

Everyone enjoyed the Jamboree immensely, although they were all a little weary by the end of the day. One of the clients said " There were many things that I enjoyed about the day including seeing and learning about world cultures and how people live from day to day. I also like watching the scouts doing some of their many activities and talking to some of the scouts who told me what the attraction was of being a scout. I learnt that all countries and cultures are different, from food, clothing, language, countries resources, but most countries share the same problems such as climate change, ill health, homelessness, but most countries also have been trying to combat these problems".