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There are Four Scouts representing the Isle of Man, they will be going as part of the UK Contingent.

There is One Scout from Ramsey and Two Scouts from 1st Douglas and One Scout from 5th Douglas.

Below is a picture of our Two Scouts who will be going to Thailand from 1st Douglas Scouts.

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Above is David K & Sam B, they are going to Thailand and they are both in 1st Douglas Scouts.

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Official Story from the

Isle of Man Examiner News Paper

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 Thai trip: The four scouts celebrate at the offices of Duncan Lawrie. From left, Richard O, Island Scout President Sir Miles Walkers, Sam B, David K, Island Commissioner Alan Teare and Richard H.

Four scouts fought off tough competition to be selected to represent the Island at the World Jamboree in Thailand at the end of the year.

Richard H, 16, from 5th Douglas Scouts, Sam B 15, and David K, 14, from 1st Douglas Scouts, and Richard O, 13, from 1st Ramsey Scouts, were chosen from 11 candidates to attend the events over Christmas and the New Year.

The four took part in an exhaustive selection process, culminating in a formal interview at private bank Duncan Lawrie (IOM) Ltd in Mount Havelock, Douglas.

In Thailand, they will be among more than 30,000 scouts from hundreds of different countries.

They will spend four weeks away and will lodge with local families and camp at the jamboree.

There will be no turkey and Christmas presents – Thailand is a Moslem country and does not celebrate Christmas.

Each boy needs to raise £2,500 to fund the experience and Duncan Lawrie has donated £250 to each boy as part of its continuing support of the Island’s Scout & Guide movement.

Sir Miles Walker, who was appointed Island Scout Association president at the start of the year, offered his support and congratulations to the four.

The Island will also be represented at the jamboree by 1st Laxey Scouts Leader Claire Parry, who also under went an extensive selection and training programme in England in order to join the security staff at the event.

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Claire Parry 1st Laxey Scouts Leader

Anyone offering sponsorship or who wishes to find out information about Scouting should contact Island commissioner Alan Teare on 833444

Below is a report that Sam wrote, for 1st Douglas Scout Group Newsletter after his trip.

 

WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE IN THAILAND

2002/2003

Sam Bentham and David Karran returned­ from the adventure of a lifetime­ on 13th January 2003 having spent just over 3 weeks in Thailand. They left the Isle of Man, along with two other Island Scouts Richard Oliveria and Richard Highfield, on the 23rd December 2002 to meet the rest of the Northern Lights contingent in Manchester and then flew to Thailand via Dubai.

 They spend Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a 5 star hotel in Bangkok. On Christmas Day there was a special meal (6 course banquet), presents­ and lots of Christmas messages from people at home, in Scouting and celebrities.

 On the 27th December 2002 they moved on to the campsite which was at Sattahip, about 180km Southeast of Bangkok. The campsite covered 12000 hectares of land.

 Once settled at the camp Sam and David set about meeting other Scouts from lots of different countries. Although they could not always speak the same language they learned to communicate quickly.

 Some of the food on the camp was not what Sam and David were used to, they often had fish stew and fish soup, but after a short while they found a supermarket on the camp which stocked more westernised food and they bought extra things from there.

 At New Year there were 2 celebrations, one to mark the Thai New Year and the other to mark the British one. The Scouts were also visited by George Purdy (Chief Scout in the UK) whilst they were on camp.

 Sam and David also took part in community work whilst they were in Thailand and helped build a kitchen at a local school before spending the rest of the day with the school children.

 The Scouts saw elephants and other wildlife, they also had an encounter with an 11 foot king cobra snake on their camp kitchen. This was eventually caught by Thai solders and released away from the camp.

 Other events that took place included raft building (and sinking), water sports, team building activities and cultural visits to Temples and Holy places.

 After the closing ceremony at the camp Sam, David and the rest of the Northern Lights contingent moved back to another hotel in Bangkok for more sightseeing. They were originally going on homestays with other Scouts to the  Philippines but this was changed due to the present situation regarding terrorism.

 Sam and David would once again like to thank everyone who helped with the fundraising in order to make the trip possible.

© 1st Douglas Scouts 2003