Scouts in Mariano Matamoros experience a summer of human rights.

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As it traditionally happens during summer, young people from Scout Experience, Ready for Life enjoy a summer camp filled with adventures, friendships and knowledge. All of the activities that are carried out have a special focus and this year, in group 101 Mariano Matamoros, they dedicated a complete week of camp to develop activities with a focus on human rights.

For a week children, young men and women from group 101 learned through games and fun activities their human rights. The activities emphasized the right to an identity, education, freedom of speech, to be treated with respect and to have a healthy and balanced diet.

The activities were led by volunteers and assisted by some of the children’s mothers, who are completely committed and are preparing to take over the responsibility and leadership of the group.

This special week of activities also included a trip to a Toros de Tijuana baseball game, a visit to “El Trompo” museum of science and technology and also dedicated a day to celebrate our Mexican heritage by wearing traditional hats and clothing.

Venture scouts from Camino Verde inspire children and young people in an orphanage.

The young men and women that are part of Group 102 Camino Verde’s Venture scouts, guided by their sense of leadership, decided to act towards benefitting other young people in their community and the city of Tijuana.

Venture scouts Titanes had the initiative to approach Emanuel Orphanage, an organization that has been working for over 20 years in the city of Tijuana; its work is aimed towards children and young people that have suffered abandonment, physical abuse, sexual abuse or homelessness, it offers diverse activities and allows them to meet and have new friends.

Emanuel orphanage is located in two different places. The first visit took place inside the orphanage premises located in El Rubí. It was a new opportunity to experience new friendships and knowledge with young people in a vulnerable situation that could potentially be benefitted by the young scouts’ involvement.

The partnership with Emanuel orphanage will continue in the following days, a visit will take place at the Emperadores location, a shelter for girls only, next to Camino Verde. In their next visit, besides organizing joint activities, they will also extend an invitation to join scout group 102 and together build a better world.

The Titanes team´s initiative sets an example on the new way the young men and women live the Scout Experience; they identify themselves as leaders and decide to create social impact, by transforming from being beneficiaries to becoming agents of social change in their communities.

Saúl generates financial and environmental sustainability within his group.

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On a previous newsletter edition we presented some of the fundraising activities that groups originated from Scout Experience, Ready for Life have accomplished to participate in camps and to achieve their financial sustainability. In this article we are presenting Saul’s story, a member of the Dragons troop from Group 101 in Mariano Matamoros, who decided to make an additional effort and not only to raise money but also to contribute to the environment in his community.

Before learning about the transformation Saúl has gone through in this year it is important to mention his background. In the beginning of 2015 his parents decided to take him to the scout center expecting that Saúl would improve his social skills and would make new friends, he was a quiet and introverted young man with little interest in becoming involved in other activities, but was also creative and responsible.

The first few weeks with the scout group were not easy for Saúl, he struggled in relating to his peers, but with the support of the group’s chiefs he became more and more outspoken. His scout mates accepted him as a member of the Dragons patrol in return of him becoming more social; it all came together in a natural way. Nowadays, Saúl is a young man who has many friends, which has helped his creativity and many ideas create a bigger impact.

While observing the group´s fundraising plans, Saúl saw the opportunity to combine taking care of the environment, a subject his enthusiastic about, with raising money for his group, which is the reason why he started recycling aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other disposable materials that he sold in order to obtain money for group 101. He also made a presentation explaining how the rest of his peers can raise money by doing this type of activities. He received an ecology badge in return for his efforts.

Saúl has set an important example for the financial sustainability in his group and the environmental sustainability in his community. He is also friendlier, confident in his leadership skills and keen in searching for information to solve problems and to set an example for his peers. He also motivated his parents into becoming more involved with the group by promoting training in environmental care within the members of the group. He is considered another case of youth development and social impact that Scout Experience, Ready for Life has accomplished.

Venture Scouts from the Baja California Province develop their leadership with “Punta de flecha”.

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The world organization of the scout movement is one of the organizations with the biggest number of young participants; it is the main reason why their participation is vital for decision making. They have the most resources and opportunities to transform the communities they live in.

Asociación de Scouts de México, A. C. (ASMAC), is fully aware of the importance of youth within the scout movement, therefore, every year an event called “Punta de Flecha” (Arrow Tip), is carried out to promote youth leadership by convening all of the committees from all Venture scouts, so they are able to develop the necessary competences for a productive leadership.

Punta de Flecha is a leadership and youth empowerment course, in which participants are provided with the necessary tools to become an active part of their community and also to dynamically improve the scout movement based on the decisions made by their section.

The objectives of Punta de Flecha are similar to the ones in Scout Experience, Ready for Life, where through educational emphases in education, character and leadership, young men and women develop up to their maximum potential to play an active role in their community. Having young Venture scouts from groups 101, 102 and 103 join the course is an additional reinforcement into forging leaders of the present and future.

Punta de Flecha course is divided in three main stages. The first took place on May 1^st with an introductory course. There are two more sessions that will take place during May and June.

The participation of Venture scouts from the entire Baja California province is quite important to build better communities; the young men and women from Scout Experience groups will continue to participate sharing their experiences and leadership skills developed with the project.

National Scout Assembly, one more year of results.

On Saturday, April 25^th the eighty third National Assembly from Asociación de Scouts de México took place in Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, with the participation of associates and scout leaders from the 53 provinces that constitute ASMAC.

The 2014 activities report from every department that is part of the national office was presented during the National Assembly, key subjects for the future of the organization were discussed and a couple of the most important moments were the renewal of the National Council and the ratification of José Luis Cárdenas as National Scout Chief.

During the activities report, results generated from Scout Experience, Ready for Life were also reported. It is important to mention that, besides contributing in youth leaders’ development, it has also allowed the optimization of some of the processes that the association carries out.

The provinces’ presidents and associates received a printed copy of the achieved results report from 2012 -2014. The members of Scout Experience, Ready for Life that were present had the opportunity to talk to the guests about the possibilities of working together in order to replicate the strategy in other cities around the country.

Scout Experience, Ready for Life is one of the main strategies from the department of institutional development to keep ASMAC as a leading civil organization for youth development and a model of transformation and social impact.

Outdoor living focused on sustainable development.

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For Scout Experience, Ready for Life, it has become a tradition to transform vacation days into opportunities for adventures, friendships and knowledge, where special activities take place during the spring, summer and winter camps.

The 2015 Spring Camp that concluded a few days ago was created during the two weeks of Easter break. On this occasion the theme for the activities was promoting sustainable development within the children and young people, members of Scout groups 101, 102 and 103 in Baja California.

The camp lasted for three days and it took place at “El Carrizo” dam, one of the most important dams in northwest Mexico, located in the city of Tecate, Baja California, which also provides water to the city of Tijuana. It is also an ideal place to enjoy outdoor living, practice sport fishing, amongst other activities.

The events during the camps were based on three topics environment, peace and development (one for each day of camping); where children, young men and women participated in activities that made them aware of the importance of these aforementioned topics in order to improve the way of life in their communities, while recognizing themselves as citizens of the world. An exploration of their environment was encouraged and they learned about how it provides tools that can be used to solve day to day problems.

Traditional outdoor living and scout activities were also completed, such as campfires, swimming, archery, abseiling, amongst others. A total of 120 people participated, this included young scouts, volunteers, all of them people with a broad vision on how to generate sustainable in order to reach a greater social impact.

Brenda Velarde, an example of commitment for many volunteers.

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How can the scout movement be even imagined without volunteered hours and resources from its members? It would be impossible to think about all the benefits that are generated in young men and women without the contribution of thousands of adults worldwide.

The same happens at Scout Experience, Ready for Life project. The progresses and accomplishments reached by the new young scouts would be unthinkable without the support of the many volunteers that have joined us in the project, that are willing to travel from many places in the world to share their time and experience and positively impact children and youth.

An example of this commitment at Scout Experience is Brenda Velarde, who first arrived at the project proudly representing group 15 “Unidad” from Baja California when she was still a Venture scout. She is a volunteer that has given numerous hours to the project, has motivated many of her peers to commit their time towards children and young people. Nowadays she is a Rover scout, a leader and an example of what a young scout can accomplish.

Brenda is part of the project´s history. She has been present since the early days of each of the groups derived from Scout Experience; she has equally participated in groups 101, 102 and 103. Her contributions have been many; she has participated in the application of the scout program, academic mentoring, planning activities, construction and by representing the project in diverse youth forums, although her biggest contribution yet, is becoming a close friend to each and every one of her scout brothers and sisters.

A few days ago Brenda Velarde was recognized as the first person in the project to receive the Scout Experience and Volunteer badges from the project. She has also been given all three scout scarves from the groups, which identifies her as part of each of them.

The pride we feel of having Brenda as a part of our team of volunteers is just a reflection of how honored we feel at Scout Experience, Ready for Life of the positive impact they have created on the young men and women of the project. Their contributions have left a mark that will carry on with them for the rest of their lives.

We kindly invite you to learn more about Brenda in the following video…

USAID/Mexico acknowledges the effort of Scout Experience parents.

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Continuing with a week filled with visits to the project, on Tuesday March 24th a team from USAID/Mexico (United States Agency for International Development) headed by their Mission Director Sean Jones, visited Camino Verde scout center and held a meeting with a group of ten mothers and fathers from scout groups 101, 102 and 103. It is important to mention that USAID/Mexico is partner of Asociación de Scouts de México in the project implementation.

During the visit, our Director at Scout Experience, Ready for Life introduced Jocelyn Brambila, Coordinator of Social Participation in the project, who spoke about the community involvement strategy that has been executed as a team, with the collaboration of three community promotors (each from every scout center). They have implemented different tools with community leaders, neighbors and family members from each scout group to increase interaction, using the scout center as a meeting point and for community cohesion; afterwards, mothers and fathers were asked give testimony of their experience within the project and about the involvement their children have with the scout movement.

During the meeting, Sean Jones was particularly interested in knowing how Scout Experience, Ready for Life has collaborated in their children’s personal development, encouraging their leadership skills and strengthening their values in order to build a stronger community. The USAID/Mexico team was also able to witness that the project has enabled the development of mothers and fathers that nowadays, perceive the scout movement as a vital ally in their children’s education and development, diminishing the risks that they withstand in their communities.

Sean Jones reiterated USAID/Mexico’s intention to keep supporting the work carried out in the communities and to help them continue their growth, he also recognized the project as an important instrument for social reconstruction in the cities of Baja California. Towards the end of the reunion the USAID/Mexico team and the Scout Experience, Ready for Life staff interacted with some of the young men and women from group 102 and their volunteers and finally, ended the event with a picture of everyone that participated.

Scouts transform their surroundings and benefit their neighbors in Camino Verde.

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An exampleof how the young men and women that are part of Scout Experience, Ready for Life have been empowered and are ready to transform their reality is the activities that the Scout Troop and Venture Scouts, from group 102, have decided to start to improve the life quality in their community.

One of the most important problems that are faced in Camino Verde is the littered streets and sidewalks. Unfortunately, in this neighborhood, it has become easy for neighbors to throw their trash on any street, parks or even small canals. A cultural struggle has been developed and it has become harder to overcome.

Challenged by this issue, young men and women from group 102 have started the initiative of changing these manners by setting a different example. As a decision from the Venture Scouts, they investigated the possibility of obtaining donated trees to plant them in the park located in front of the scout center. This initiative led them to SIMPATT (Municipal System of Theme Parks of Tijuana) who supported the project by donating 26 acacias.

When the trees arrived at the scout center, the Venture Scouts received help from the Scout Troop to plant the trees. After seeing the young men and women’s effort, Mr. Fidel Delgado, a member of the community, decided to help them and join their activity; he also promised them a tutorial on compost and its benefits, which is a result of proper waste management.

This initiative is just the first step towards the project the Venture Scouts have in Camino Verde. There are already plans and actions set in motion to have trash containers in the park, there are also plans to have an environmental awareness workshop in the scout center for the community and to visit the street market, other community members and small businesses in the area.

Actions such as this are more frequent within the young men and women in the project, actions that demonstrate the motto that represents every scout, Always ready to serve!

Province level forums, a setting for youth leadership.

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The scout movement was created for young people; therefore, identifying their needs, doubts and interests is a priority to be able to generate an exciting program proposal; province level forums offer the opportunity to listen to their ideas.

Province level forums have as their main goal, to provide young men and women with an environment where they can present, analyze and arrive to conclusions about subjects they are interested in. They take place once a year and involve Scout Troops, Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts from all of the groups in the province (this includes young men and women ranging from 11 to 21 years old). A topic is suggested in each forum and from that a dialogue is started, this being the year of Spirit of Unity at Asociación de Scouts de México.

Groups 101, 102 and 102, derived from Scout Experience, Ready for Life participated for the first time at the forum. Young men and women integrated naturally with the other participants, scouts from Camino Verde, Mariano Matamoros and Granjas Familiares interacted easily with their scout brothers and sisters.

These province level forums were a platform to show the change in the young men and women from Scout Experience. Their participation during the debates was done with confidence, understanding the challenges that they face as young people, presenting creative solutions, all under the spirit of unity. A few of them overcame personal trials during the forum, an example of that was Victor’s experience from group 102 (Camino Verde). He conquered his shyness and presented the conclusions they agreed upon as a group to the rest of his peers.

Another characteristic that stood out from Scout Experience’s young men and women was leadership. Uriel Flores from group 102 decided to run for coordinator and although he was not selected, he still felt happy afterwards. He felt secure in the changes he has gone through by participating in the project and how these changes open up new perspectives and make it possible for his leadership to transform things and overcome obstacles.

Participating in the forums awoke in them again, the desire to be better, which has accompanied them throughout their Scout Experience. For them to be able to run for any position they have to know how to speak English, so that their provinces’ ideas and proposals can be presented in front of larger audiences and scouts from other countries. It is probable that a few years earlier the language barrier could have demotivated our young scouts, but this did not occur this time, and a large group of Venture Scouts have an additional motivation to learn English. They have decided to take online courses while using the computer labs from each Scout center, and they will also receive tutoring from our British volunteer Polly Rakshi.

In conclusion, the 2015 forums with the participation of Scout Troops, Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts from Baja California have been successful in contributing to the spirit of unity. They also motivated young men and women from Scout Experience to continue their personal progress, conquer challenges and set new goals that will contribute to creating a social impact in their communities.