Once again, the CKS College Scout Center proved that it is indeed one of the best Scouting units not only in the Philippines, but also across Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world with 14 of its scouts and leaders joining the 23rd World Scout Jamboree at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan from July 28 to August 8, 2015.

The World Scout Jamboree is the biggest gathering of scouts and guides worldwide and it takes place every four years, the previous one held during 2011 in Sweden. This year, the World Jamboree in Japan had more than 34,000 scouts from 151 countries attending. Activities were built around the theme “和 WA: a Spirit of Unity”.  For Japanese, the Kanji Character “和” (Wa) embraces many meanings such as unity, harmony, cooperation,friendship and peace. WA also represented Japan and its culture.

A highlight of their participation in the Jamboree was their one-day off-site programme to Hiroshima. The CKSian scouts visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, where they had the opportunity to learn from the events of 1945. Another engaging module activity they joined was the Global Development Village (GDV) which raised their awareness of global issues such as peace, the environment, development, human rights and health among participants. As the Jamboree was held in Japan, GDV focused on disaster mitigation.

The scouts also visited the City of Science, an on-site programmer that deepened their understanding of advances in science and technology, learning hands-on the development of fuel cells and other energy sources for the future, ecological problems, robotics, and automotive technologies.

They also engaged in two other modules, namely Crossroads of Culture and Exploring Nature. Crossroads of Culture promoted learning and respect for the distinct cultures of the participants and the countries they represent and deepened their understanding of Japan from traditional to pop culture. Exploring Nature made the scouts appreciate the natural environment even more with a stamina-boosting mountaineering hike.

As part of the Philippine contingent, the CKSians also performed their version of the Ati-Atihan Festival during the Philippine Day Fiesta at the camp to the delight of the guests and visitors from many different countries.

Guiding the CKS scouts in the event was Danilo Supelana, grade school discipline staff and KAB scout leader. Joining him were Harvey Andee Co, Ken Russel Sy, Ze Hong Tan, Bryant Cedric Lopez-Go, Annie Chen, Eunice Koengchiat, Jelline Cheng, Stephanie Co, Bernadette Ocampo, and members of the International Service Team Philip Guevarra, Oliver John Christian Liu, Karl Derrick Guevarra, and Bea Danica Glory.

During their participation in the Faiths and Beliefs module, three scouts also earned the Thomas Monson award from the Church of Latter Day Saints, namely Eunice Koengchiat, Ze Hong Tan, and Bryant Cedric Lopez-Go.

Good work, CKSian scouts!