Scouting in Bangladesh
Fazle Rabbi Khan
Scouting is an extra-curricular activity, which helps the young people to develop their physical, mental and other intellectual capabilities; as a result, a person who has been scouting from his or her young age, that person is able to perform better in the career more actively and also can contribute the society more dedicatedly. Scouting helps a person to become a good human being, who can face and manage different situations in professional and personal life as well. Lord Baden-Powell (February 22, 1857 January 8, 1941) is the founder of Scout Movement. He wrote a book titled Scouting for Boys, which is considered as the beginning of scouting.
According to Bangladesh Scout, Bangladesh became an independent member of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement on July 1, 1974. Since then the practice of scouting in Bangladesh is remarkable. The scouting population of Bangladesh is more than 13,72,000 including the three different sections of scouting. These three sections of scouting are, Cub Scout, Scout and Rover Scout, where the age limit is 6 to 10, 11 to 16 and 17 to 25-year-old respectively. Scouting is a voluntary involvement, where different students can be involved through an institution or individual as well. Those who involves individually, they do scouting through a group of Bangladesh Scout called Open Scout Group.
Scouting is a movement which helps the young people in their physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development, so that they can make themselves more organised and can play different valuable roles in a society. It is an extra-curricular activity, besides regular study it helps to learn more in a practical field. Scouts are helpful and dedicated to their society and culture. They have respect for the right of others and they become a positive leader in a society. Scouting has grown over the years also in Bangladesh, where the scouts are considering many difficulties to serve the society, said Md. Abul Kalam Azad, President of Bangladesh Scout.
This week YI tried to focus on the scouting in Bangladesh and talked to some scouts to know their experience about scouting.
Munim Chowdhury, 20, is a rover scout, who has been scouting since his early school life. He is studying marketing at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). By scouting we can learn more besides our regular curriculum. And it helps us to learn the things practically. We can enhance our leadership skills by scouting, as a result, we are learning how to lead a team. Managing a team skillfully, we are learning that how to achieve a goal. It is helping me to lead my life through various rules and regulations. So maintaining these rules and regulations, I am shaping my life, so that my life is becoming more disciplined. As a result, I will able to do any kind of work in an organized way.
Scout has a basic principle, which is, duty to God, duty to others and duty to self. I believe, if someone follows this principle in his or her whole life, that person will be a good human being. So scouting not only helps to develop oneself, it also helps to develop a mind to contribute that persons society, he added.
Tania Aktar, 23, is a rover scout, who has been scouting since her college life. She is now graduating in management from Eden Mohila College. After completing my school, when I admitted to college, I observed few of my friends were scouts. They used to do different extra-curricular activities, which grabbed my attraction. And then I also start scouting. Now I can feel that how the decision was so correct. Now, I can examine myself that, how I have improved my characteristic and skills by doing scouting.
Scouting is a huge platform for networking. This is a way through which I can meet with different types of people, learn many things from them and also share different ideas with not only the local people, but also with the different people worldwide. By scouting, I have visited several countries like, India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and many more. So this is a way through which we can learn many things practically, visiting different places and meeting different people. And as it is a voluntary activity, this is an effective way to do something for the society, said Tania.
Md. Arman Hossain, 22, a rover scout, who has been scouting since his college life. He is now graduating in Bangla from Naogaon Govt. College. I do scouting, because it helps us to be a good human being and also an active person, who can take part in social work. Scouting teaches me the difference between good and bad. We have an oath that, to do my duty to Allah and my country, to help the other people at all times and obey the scout law. So this oath shows me the path, which way to go. We do different works for our society. We work as a team, we do team work for funding and help rural people or any other social needs.
I have many experiences in scouting. I attended scout Camporee, Jamboree, Rover Moot. Scouting is a great extra-curricular activity, where the most interesting part is service. We do service to the society and we love to do that. When I perform as a scout, my college principal salute to me and my other scout mates, which is the most important part of my life, Arman added.
There are three different camping gathering of scouts, where Camporee is a regional gathering of scouts for camping and different activities. Jamboree is a large gathering than the camporee. And the Rover Moot is a gathering for the rover scouts from all over the world. Besides these, there are also some gatherings for cub scouts, scouts and rover scouts in the sub-district, district and different regional level as well.
Khan Mohammad Arif, 23, who has been scouting since his early school life from class 3. He is graduated in Computer Science and Engineering from Stamford University, Bangladesh. From my childhood, I loved to do extra-curricular activities. I loved to play on playground and visit different places. As scouting is an extra-curricular activity I started it eagerly. Scouting has given me the platform to meet with different people and visit different places. As a result I have established a strong network of mine through which I can share and gather different knowledge even beyond the country.
Also scouting has given me the opportunity to develop my characteristic and other skills, through which I can contribute to the society, he added.
Newaz Sharif Ahad, 17, a scout, who has been scouting when he was in class 5. I believe scouting helps us to be a good human being. It helps us to learn different things practically. I have learnt about real life, where in one side I have learnt how to develop my own characteristic, on the other hand I also learnt how to love general people and the society.
Tarif Mohammad Khan, 26, who started scouting from class six and was a Senior Patrol Leader SPL at Adamjee Cantonment Public School for more than two years. He is now a senior executive in marketing and sales operation department of a local group of companies. Doing scouts in my boyhood was a life changing game for me. Though, I was a student of a school which runs by military governance body but scouting teaches me to shape my life in discipline. I have learned how to follow leadership and develop that quality in me. I was blessed to be the Senior Patrol Leader SPL to lead the whole school scouts unit. It has given me confidence as well as develops my team player skill.
When I have attended national camps, I get to know many people which expand my networking capability. By achieving different badges for various competencies such as: First Aid, Fire Fighting, Blood Donation, Disaster Management, Afforestation and many more, I have learned several skill sets which grows dynamism in me. On my opinion, I really appreciate scouting and strongly recommend doing scout in academic life to uplift the human qualities as well as competent for upcoming career, said Tarif.
Photo: Courtesy
