By Bree Greer
This past summer, 11 local young people were part of the 350 Canadians joining more than 32,000 scouts from 151+ countries gathered together for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan.
The jamboree’s theme was WA: A Spirit of Unity and it embraced unity, harmony, cooperation, friendship, and peace, gathering us as one.
This gathering of young, enthusiastic youths showed the rest of the world that there can be world peace.
Participants camped in 12 sub camps at the jamboree. Four sub camps formed a hub of approximately 8,000 participants per hub. During my stay, I was situated in the Northern Hub, camping in sub camp Akagi. All sub camps were named after mountain ranges located in Japan.
Every day we partook in different modules: Culture, Science, Community, Nature, Water, Peace, and the Global Development Village. Each one taught me different life lessons.
The most moving moment I had was visiting the bombing site in Hiroshima. One of the most emotional times was listening to the messages of victims. The messages were read to us, then we repeated them out loud.
When I had to read those lines out loud, it hit me. I learned that we must learn from the past so we do not make the same mistakes again.
The modules showed me and every other scouter that we can make a difference. We are the leaders of tomorrow! It is hard to explain my experiences of this jamboree, it is something one must experience first-hand.
There were days that I was miserable, hot, and dehydrated from the sun. One thing I experienced was that a brain freeze from ice cream never felt so good! To walk from my sub camp to the World Scout Center took me 20 minutes to half an hour. It was a difficult walk some days, especially with the hot, humid weather.
Overall, I formed friendships that will last a lifetime. My friends and I keep in touch all of the time!
Some say that it was a trip of a lifetime. I say it was just the beginning of many journeys that I will experience thanks to scouting.
The 1st Terrace Venturers are inviting the public to view our presentation on the World Jamboree at Elks Hall on October 21st at 7:30 p.m.