THE EXPEDITIONER
April 2017
Sheraton Mall Sargeant’s Village Christ Church T (246) 436-8754 F (246) 436-1630 deiabarbados@gmail.com www.theawardbarbados.com www.facebook.com/deabarbadosaward
Scouts to Be Dukers
THE EXPEDITIONER
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Award in the Community
Climbing into the gully at PEG farms
Carla speaking to the Garrison Legionnaires Society
The Award stays current with what’s happening in Barbados. In the last few months representatives volunteered for Exercise Tradewinds, took part in a sixth form schools expo and visited PEG farms in St. Joseph. Carla Alleyne also made a presentation to the Garrison Legionnaires Society on just why they should be ‘dukers’. Exercise Tradewinds was especially useful as leaders and participants not only acted as mass casualty victims but toured the Barbados Defence Force base at Paragon and Barbados Coast Guard. Those who attended got an insight into life in the military. There was also a visit to Folkestone Marine Park in May. During that open day there was a lot to learn about Barbados’s marine life past and present. Keep looking for more Dukers in your community!! Sharing info at Sixth form expo
Touring the Folkestone Marine Reserve
Visit to Paragon
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Sub-licence cements Scouts partnership The Barbados Boy Scouts Association is once again part of the Award family. On Tuesday 27th June. Sir Marston Gibson, President of the Barbados Boy Scouts Association signed a sub-licence agreement. This means that now all scouts who are 14 years old and above can sign up to be a duker. With that they will be able to use scouting activities not only for gaining badges but also to earn their awards. The Award is happy to have the scouts on board once more. The scouting movement has a long history with the Award. The island’s first award holders were in fact scouts. Currently, there are a number of scouts who also take part in the Award through their schools. This sometimes leads to them having to do double activities. But now that the partnership has been established, this will be a thing of the past. The agreement was one of the highlights of the Annual General meeting for the Boys Scouts Association. This was the final time that outgoing Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave would preside over the AGM. In addition to being the Chief Scout, Sir Elliott is also the local patron of the Award programme. During the AGM Sir Elliott expressed his gratitude to the BBSA for appointing him Honorary Chief Scout and promised to remain engaged with what was happening with the organisation.
(TOP) -Chairman of the National Award Council, Stephen Smith and Sir Marston Gibson sign the sub-licence agreement (ABOVE) Dr. Nigel Taylor (Chief Commissioner) and Maj. David Clarke (Regional Director Americas) raise a toast to Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave.
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Leaders Look at State of the Award In May, Award leaders gathered to examine what they can do to extend the Award’s impact locally. The theme for the day was ‘Laying the Foundation for Legacy’. At each interval attendees were asked to envision the future and craft what they start doing now to make that into a reality. As the day progressed the leaders were exposed to tools for making the role of the leader easier. Divided into small teams, leaders crafted steps for recruiting more participants, improving the number of award holders and finding more resources . Each leader was clear that the Programme is extremely beneficial and made a renewed personal commitment to serving the community. Garfield Callender, from the Expedition Panel, spoke to the leaders about the Adventurous Journey section and drove home the point that managing risk is very important as groups work on that section. (Cont’d Page 5)
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THE EXPEDITIONER
(Cont’d from page 4) He encouraged them to work together so that they share resources in creating exciting options for young people. By the end of the day the all felt refreshed and re-energized about what the Award could do to develop the nation’s youth. Leading the day’s discussions Carla Alleyne asked all to be mindful of the desire to ensure that the Award is available to all young Barbadians. Armed with personalized plans for their groups the leaders are ready for the new school year.
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THE EXPEDITIONER
Guyana—we are coming For several months the Barbados contingent has been getting ready for the annual CASC expedition. Training culminated with a four day hike that tested physical and mental abilities. The group had to put all their prior training to work as they experienced cooking in wet conditions and dealing with injuries along the way. But before then the group did rappelling with the Barbados Defence Force and set standards with a fitness test. Best of luck to them as they tackle all Guyana’s wonders.
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On the Trails Hundreds, maybe thousands of miles were trekked in the months April to June. In an effort to complete the Adventurous Journey lots of groups did qualifying ventures. Here are just a few snapshots.
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THE EXPEDITIONER
One who wanders finds a new path - Norwegian proverb