Opening of the 9th Fiji National Cub Camboree And 100th Anniversary of Cub Scout in the World
August 15, 2016 Drasa Education Institute, Lautoka
The President of the Fiji Scout Association, Mr. Abhay Nand,
The Chief Commissioner, Mr. Jone Naisau,
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Drasa Educational Institute,
Invited Guests,
Cub Scout Leaders and Cubs.
Ni sa bula vinaka, namaste, asalaam alaykum, noa’ia‘e mauri, and a very Good Morning to you all.
As your new Chief Scout, I am deeply honoured to join you today and to officiate in the opening of the 9th Fiji National Cub Camboree. This is also an important occasion as it is also the 100th Anniversary of Cub Scout in the world.
As President and Chief Scout and I am sure that I can confidently speak on behalf of the Scouts and Cubs of the Scouts Movement in Fiji – that we are very happy and in a festive and celebration mood because of the magnificent and historic performance and achievement of our Men’s Sevens Rugby Team in winning Fiji’s first ever Gold Medal in a Summer Olympic Games since we first forayed into the Olympic arena in 1956. What a tremendous achievement by our team of gallant rugby warriors, who were superbly coached by Ben Ryan and ably led by Captain Osea Kolinisau on the field. We congratulate and salute them for this momentous and historical feat for it has made us all so very proud to be Fijians.
The members of our Sevens Rugby Team were once young boys like you who aspired and dreamed to be successful in life and through their individual and collective hard work, perseverance and sacrifice, they have achieved their dreams of winning Gold in the Olympics, thus stamping and guaranteeing Fiji’s status as World Champions in International Sevens Rugby.
Our Sevens Rugby Olympic heroes have proven to our beloved nation and particularly to young boys like you that, “there is no substitute to hard work as the key to success”.
This is the challenge I want to leave with you our cubs and all youths of Fiji. If you remain focussed and persevere in what you want to achieve in life, nothing becomes impossible. You are Fiji’s future and you can continue to demonstrate to the world that Fiji can be as good as any other country in the world.
Today’s celebration is my first official engagement as Chief Scout of Fiji and it is an honour to be part of an organisation that stands for our duty to God, duty to our country and our duty to help other people.
These values are reflected in our promise which makes a young cub like you different from other young people of your age.
The Scouts/Cub Movement in Fiji reached a milestone in 2014 when it celebrated its 100th year of existence and service during the Centennial Jamboree at Queen Victoria School, Matavatucou. Today, the 15th of August, 2016, we are reaching another milestone. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Cub/Scouts Movement in the world. You as young members of the Cub Movement today should continue to learn and improve your skills and performance as we all look forward to your transition into becoming our Scouts, Scout Masters and Leaders of the Movement tomorrow.
As we gather here in the Sugar City for the occasion of the 9th Fiji National Cub Camboree, I am happy to inform you that the World Organisation of the Scouts Movement has been very supportive and forthcoming with its encouragement and good wishes for a successful and fruitful Camboree.
To you our young Cubs of the Movement, you will find that life can be a very different experience because within the Organisation you will be guided, encouraged and helped in realising and fulfilling your potential and ambition in life. Your training and interaction with fellow Cubs should develop your characters with improvement to your discipline and ability to be part of and work together successfully as a team. These are traits and qualities which will undoubtedly assist you as you mature and venture into an unpredictable and very challenging future.
Early this year our country went through a very traumatic and challenging period as a consequence of the widespread devastation wreaked by Severe Tropical Cyclone WINSTON. I believe that some of you were adversely affected, but tried your best to assist other members of your communities who were less fortunate by heeding the call and plea of Government that as Fijians we should be more compassionate, considerate and helpful during such times.
In this regard, I would like to commend and thank you for your efforts because in reaching out to those in need you have responded in the true spirit of what you stand for as a Cub/Scout of the Movement.
For those of you who were badly affected by the Cyclone in February, this should be a good break from the trauma and hardship you went through and I encourage you to share your experiences with your friends and help each other as this will be a good therapy for your psychological recovery.
Camborees are wonderful opportunities for all cubs and leaders to come together and participate in the activities, meet new friends and to take a break from your homes and schools. I believe all of you will undergo a new enjoyable experience as you share and learn from one another.
There are over 10,000 young people who are registered as scouts all over Fiji. About 1,000 of you lucky ones have been selected to participate in this camp. A camp that is only held every four years. This site is also historical as it is an institution of learning for young people and I would like to acknowledge and commend the Management for making it available for our use.
Your theme for this camp is “Fun in the Sun” and this is what I want you to achieve in this camp. Having fun is healthy and it relieves us from the demands and obligations of everyday life. The Camboree is multi-cultural, multi religious and promotes genuine friendship which is the very essence of fun that we should strive to achieve in this camp.
This cub camboree is going to be a grand occasion by Fiji standards. You will be doing community work, visiting institutions and business facilities in Lautoka City and interacting with the village ad farming communities here in Drasa.
This Camboree will test your individual life skills and allow everyone to reflect and have fun. So make the most of it. I am pleased to learn that you will be expected to make your own beds, help cook your own food and share your thoughts and experience with new found friends.
One of the aims of this Camboree is for you to Learn and at the same time have fun and I am sure that you will indeed attain this over the duration of your stay.
I must acknowledge and welcome the participation of cubs from all over Fiji who are here today. For cubs from the Northern, Eastern and Central divisions, welcome to the West. For those of you from the West; Nadroga, Nadi, Ba, Tavua and Ra, Lautoka welcomes you as the host of this Camboree. I appreciate your participation and also hope that you will learn as much as you can from the camp to help you grow intellectually, socially and spiritually.
In conclusion, I would like to commend and thank the Lautoka Scout Council, the camp chief and your hard working team, thank you very much for organising this large gathering of youths.
To the Cubs, I am certain that your parents and guardians expect you to enjoy yourselves, learn from each other and hopefully return home better equipped to make a difference by becoming responsible, caring and productive citizens of our beloved nation in the future.
I wish you all a successful and a blessed time and I now have great pleasure to declare the 9th Fiji National Cub Camboree and 100th Anniversary of Cub Scouting in the World - Open.
May Almighty God continue to bless our beloved Nation and all Fijians.
Vinaka vakalevu, Dhanyavaad, Sukria, Fai’eksia and Thank you all.