Scouts and guides from New Al-Wurood International School, Jeddah, attended the National Scouts Jamboree held at Mysore in India from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. The Al-Wurood contingent comprised Amras Aleen, Hisham Ashraf, P. Jeevanadam, Achint Kannoth, Abdullah Syed Ismail, Akshay Uthaman, Mazin Rahiman, Rohith Pillai, Adil Noushad, Nikhil Stephen, Nabeel Noushad, Nabeel Faisal, Areej Fatima, Shiya Binth Shiyaz, Abeer Ashraf, Saleha Shafi and Jennifer Sebastian. The high voltage Jamboree was inaugurated by President of India Pranab Mukherjee. The jamboree is the scouting event of a lifetime. Over 25,000 scouts and guides from around the country and 2,500 from abroad accompanied by scoutmasters participated in the fun-filled event. Almost 2,500 tents were pitched in 400 acres of land spanning around five and a half kilometers. The theme this year is "Together for a Better Tomorrow". The jamboree will provide an opportunity for the scouts and guides to expand their reach and brotherhood besides participating in activities that will be physically and intellectually stimulating. Amazing activities at the National Jamboree included adventure sports wherein participants will go through physical challenges such as obstacles crossing and artificial wall climbing. Participating contingents will showcase the significance of various states and countries besides being exposed to the global culture. The platform is utilized to drive the interests of scouts and guides to express their views on change they want to bring about. Nine scouts and four guides from New Al-Wurood International School have already been honored with the Rajya Puraskar Award. The Rajya Puraskar winners will attend the test for the highest award, the Rastrapathi Puraskar. "This is simply an outstanding record as this achievement is unparalleled in the whole Kingdom. The awards are the fruit of their hard work, dedication, discipline and recognition of their excellent work in the field of social service and community work," the school said in a statement. The awardees of NAWIS had spent action-packed training sessions at Munnar and Riyadh. Vibrant activities in the camps focused on skill development like rock climbing, archery, ecology/conservation, outdoor skills and wilderness survival. Evening programs were centered on special events, competitions and open programs. The camps encouraged students to try new things, feel good about themselves and experience adventurous activities that they would not normally be offered. Most importantly, they got to be decision-makers with leadership opportunities in every program. Participants had a variety of instructional courses available to earn merit badges, other awards and certifications. The scouts and guides movement at Al-Wurood is supported by in-house resources. The school ensures extensive training sessions for the scoutmasters and guide captains in all major training camps conducted by Bharat Scouts and Guides in Kerala and the Kingdom. "New Al-Wurood believes scouting, one of the greatest character-building factories, is important and take conscious efforts to yoke the movements together with its students' lives. The astonishing statistics of the school's scouts and guides legacy tells us that scouting and guiding in New Al-Wurood is not merely a program of the youth but a way to sensitize them about societal needs," said the statement.
