Guyana scouting organization one of the strongest in the Caribbean- Regional Scout executive

Jun 21, 2015 News

By Abena Rockcliffe
The strides made in scouting in Guyana are tremendous. Local leaders have proven over the

Ronald Richardson, Caribbean Operation Executive

years that they have acquired the necessary skills and techniques needed to keep scouting alive so much so that the Scout Association of Guyana ranks among the strongest in the Caribbean.
This is according to Ronald Richardson, Operations Executive in charge of the Caribbean.
Richardson, who became a scout at the age of eight, and maintained membership for over 62 years, extended kudos to the local scout leaders during his five-day visit which will come to an end tomorrow.
The Trinidadian’s visit to Guyana forms part of his mandate to ensure scouting operations are running smoothly across the Caribbean.
During such visits, Richardson works with leaders and commissioners to arrive at strategies best suited for the promotion and expansion of scouting, specific to Guyana
He also seeks to ensure scout values are well known and maintained and encourage leaders to always prioritize the transmission of such values.
Richardson told Kaieteur News that he hopes to convince the leaders of the advantages there are to be derived from the further expansion of scouting in Guyana.
Of course he gave credit where it is due; saying that Guyana’s scout organization has indeed come a long way.
Richardson described Guyana’s journey as a “wonder story” and said that the bulk of the improvement was between 1990 to present. Richardson added that the “tremendous” improvement is owed to the work of Chief Scout Commissioner of Guyana, Zaida Joaquin and her team.
He said that before 1990 the Association was “existing but struggling.” However, leaders accepted a challenge to facilitate a major turnaround, the necessary work was put in to it and good changes occurred.
“A lot has been done. They established a training team, improved the headquarters, expanded the membership and indeed reached out to a lot of communities across Guyana,” said Richardson.
He added, “I am satisfied that the leaders are going in the direction we will like them to go.”
He said, however, that a deficiency in Guyana lies with the limited amount of young adults that are willing to volunteer their time and services to the movement.
Richardson said that Guyana has to recruit new and younger leaders as intergeneration dialogue is important and will aid communication.
Limited financing was also listed as another hindrance, but Richardson said that this is a problem throughout the Caribbean.
In a bid to sell scouting, Richardson said that the movement is all about building a nation through the values of scouting. He added that many society leaders around the world are scouts.
He said that a scout can be easily identified as they are dedicated, honest, supportive and can easily get along with others.
Richardson said that those qualities can be useful to the individual in their spiritual, work and family life.
He said also, “A scout will always be a visionary, the one who sees the larger picture because that is what we are trained to do, so we can see the completeness in a person even when that person cannot.”
During a 2012 visit, Richardson convinced the Scout Association to adopt a modern approach to activities that allow non-members to participate, giving them first-hand experience about the programme.
Guyana, which was the first Caribbean jurisdiction to start scouting, the second in South America and the fifth in the world, has had a Scout Association for 105 years
“On my honour, I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, to help other people, and to keep the scout law.” This has been the solemn pledge of thousands of scouts – Guyana’s sons and daughters these past hundred and five years.
The continued propagation of scouting locally will certainly uplift the moral and social conduct of Guyana’s youth.