Visiting Scout Shares His Experiences
With an International Letter of Introduction, International Scout Jade Called by to Share his Scouting Story
On a recent visit to Sydney to see friends, Boy Scouts of the Philippines Rover Scout, Jade M. Sevilla, called in to Scouts Australia NSW Branch and the National Support Office to say hello, share some of the benefits his Group’s Scouting projects bring to their local community, and last but certainly not least, have his International Letter of Introduction stamped!
“Hello, I am Jade M. Sevilla, a Rover Scout and The Outfit Advisor of Barangay Tandang Sora Neighbourhood Scouting Outfit 440 from the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. I have been a Scout since grade school. I am also a “Barangay Kagawad” (Town Councillor) and Chairman of the Education Committee.
In 2015 I passed a resolution “Creating Neighbourhood Scouting”. I felt the need for youth to join Scouting because as a young boy, it moulded me to who I am today as a person.
As a Town Councillor and as a Scout, I included the Scouting activities to my Programs in Education. One of my program is called Books on Wheels. Every Saturday, together with a teacher, the neighbourhood Scouts and I go to community areas in need and teach children.
Books on Wheels includes activities like song and dance, story-telling, book reading and Filipino old games, or as we call it “Palarong Pinoy”. Neighbourhood Scouts assists the teacher and the children (they are like big brothers to them).
Another program is the Drum Beaters, where my cousin teaches Scouts how to play the drums. They also actively keep the community clean. In October, every Scout has a shoe box and they fill it out with things like toys, soap, a toothpaste and toothbrush, small towels, and pencils, and give them as Christmas gifts to poor children.”
When not involved in Scouting activities, Registered Nurse Jade also volunteers to vaccinate children at a health centre.
Jade hopes his Group’s story will inspire others to make a difference in their community because “Scouting is FUN, Helping is FUN.”
Members of Scouts Australia travelling overseas independently, are eligible to apply for an International Letter of Introduction. The Letter enables the bearer to identify themselves to fellow Scouts in countries they are visiting. It does not convey any special privileges (such as entitlement to hospitality), however Scouts worldwide are encouraged to extend “a Scouting welcome” to the bearer.
