News

Grants, flights and an update from Swaziland!

Flights have now been booked and 7 Swazi scouts will visit the UK this summer between Saturday 22nd July and Thursday 10th August. Earlier this month, we received news that we were successful in securing a Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council grant for the return leg of our exchange. This enables us to maximise the number of scouts that visit the UK and ensure that the time they spend here is both enjoyable and beneficial to all those involved.

In other news, the TFL Centenary Scout Centre continues to be developed and recently played host to a camp by local orphaned children who had the opportunity to spend their first nights under canvas. This was followed by a football tournament involving 4 teams and cheered on by large crowds including Masuku - a local MP.

Excellent work by the Swaziland Boy Scouts Association has ensured that the site continues to attract lots of attention and financial support, both locally and abroad.

Click here to download the full report from Swaziland and to see recent pictures of the events on site

CYEC funding looks hopeful

An application to the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, to part fund the return leg of the youth exchange has been well received and agreed in principle (dependent on external funding). The CYEC, an organisation dedicated to the development of youth work and exchange links between the UK and Commonwealth nations, were a major funder of the outgoing leg by UK participants and we are very grateful for all the support they have given us.

Teams prepare for second leg

After a brief respite, the teams are now in preparation for the second leg of the exchange, which will see the Swazi team come to the UK in summer 2006. Our Swazi friends are keen to visit the UK to experience our way of life and engage in a similarly worthwhile community action project. Our next challenge is to raise sufficient funds and establish relationships with community partners to maximize the impact of the project.

We're building on skills we developed in the first phase of the project, and learning some totally new ones. We're moving on and moving forward in an international partnership that many did not believe would succeed. We've a lot to do, but we've got clear goals and we're committed to achieving them together.

As a team we welcome offers of support from individuals or organizations. We also welcome new members who would like to be involved in the planning and implementation of what we're doing. Contact us for more information.

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