Scouts, Guides, Bulbuls and Cubs get State awards

Mangalore, November 8: Ten-year-old Prajwal P. Shenoy proudly showed the badges he had received in his four years of being in the Scouts and Guides. “I have been trained in giving first aid,” he said showing the badge that has a cross. “This is for being a good entertainer,” he said with a smile.

Shenoy and his classmates Karthik Prabhu and Sumanth Kamath from Rotary School in Moodbidri were among the 400 students from the district who received the State-level awards at a function organised here on Monday. The function was organised by the Dakshina Kannada District Association of Bharat Scouts and Guides, Karnataka.

Karthik Prabhu said that his stint in the Scouts and Guides had been enriching. “I have learnt to save a person who is drowning. I have been trained in using fishing net,” said Prabhu, who along with his two classmates joined the Scouts this year. “I would like to continue with Scouts and later join the National Cadet Corps,” said Sumanth Kamath. These three students were among 26 students from the State who took part in the National Cubs, Bulbuls, Scouts and Guides camp organised in Haryana in February.

Children aged less than five are taken for Bunny. Those aged between five and 10 are taken for Cubs (for boys) and Bulbuls (for girls). Those aged between 10 and 17 go for Scouts (for boys) and Guides (for girls). Those aged between 17 and 25 are taken as Rovers (for boys) and Rangers (for girls).

The awards were based on the performance of the students during Chaturta Charana (for Cubs), Ratna Giri (for Bulbuls) and Rajya Puraskar (for scouts and guides) evaluation done at the State-level. Gopalakrishna Bhat, senior trainer, said that apart from a written examination, children went through various tests to know how responsible they were to society and the country. They got feedback from the parents and teachers about their children's behaviour at home and in school, he added.

On Monday, one student from each of the 40 schools in the district came forward to receive certificates from Assistant Commissioner K.A. Dayanand and 86-year-old Octovia Albuquerque, former MLC and former National Chief Commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides.

In her address, Ms. Albuquerque recalled the way the Bharat Scouts and Guides had grown in the district. She said there were eight guide companies when she was the District Commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides and it rose to 10 units when she was the State Commissioner. She also mentioned about the good response she received when Rangers' unit that was started in Besant College and a Rovers' unit for Mogaveera youth in Ullal.