The Seychelles Scout Association (SSA) is the national Scouting

Scouting

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

 organization of the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

. Scouting in Seychelles was founded in 1927 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement

World Organization of the Scout Movement

The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 (WOSM) in 2002. The association has 372 members (as of 2011).

History

Scouting in Seychelles started in 1927 as an overseas branch of The Scout Association

The Scout Association

The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...

 (UK) and aimed mainly to British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 boys. Later it was opened to all boys. In 1977, Scouting was banned by the government of the now independent country.

The Scout movement was readmitted in 1994 and became a member of WOSM in 2002. Since 1998, the SSA is twinned to the Greater London South West County of the Scout Association (UK).

Program sections

The association is divided in three age-groups:

• Cub Scouts (ages 7 to 11)
• Boy Scout
  Boy Scout
  A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
  
  s (ages 12 to 15)
• Rover Scouts
  Rover Scouts
  Rover Scouting is a service division of Scouting for young men, and in most countries, women. A group of Rovers, analogous to a Scout troop, is called a 'Crew.'...
  
   (ages 16 to 20)

Scout Motto

As English and French are official languages of the Seychelles, the Scout Motto is BePrepared (English) and Sois Prêt (French).

Scout Promise

On my honour, I promise that I will do my best,

to do my duty to God and to my country,

to help other people

and to keep the Scout Law.

Scout Law

• A Scout's honour is to be trusted.
• A Scout is loyal.
• A Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others.
• A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.
• A Scout is courteous.
• A Scout is a friend to animals.
• A Scout obeys orders of his parents, patrol leaders or Scoutmaster without question.
• A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
• A Scout is thrifty.
• A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.

Organization

The association is headed by the Chief Scout and the Chief Commissioner. In 2007, Shelton Jolicoeur was elected Chief Scout, replacing Basil Soundy. Current Chief Commissioner is Bernard Elizabeth.

In 2008, the association consisted of 16 Scout troop

Scout troop

The Scout troop is a unit of Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts that usually meet weekly. Girl Guides often use Unit or Company instead. The troop is the fundamental unit, which a Scout joins and via which he or she participates in Scouting activities, such as camping, backpacking, and...

s which were organised in 4 areas:

• Central Region
• Northern Region
• Praslin
  Praslin
  Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles, lying 44 km north east of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 6,500 people and comprises two administrative districts; Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse . The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.It was...
  
   - La Digue
  La Digue
  La Digue is the fourth largest inhabited island of the Seychelles, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. It has a population of about 2,000 people, who mostly live in the west coast villages of La Passe and La Réunion. It has an area of 10 km²...
  
  
• Western Region

Within the structures of WOSM, the Seychelles Scout Association is member of the Africa Scout Region

WOSM-Africa Region

The Africa Scout Region is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with satellite offices in Cape Town, South Africa, and Dakar, Senegal...

. In July 2006, Rubina Marivonne Haroon

Rubina Marivonne Haroon

Ms. Rubina Marivonne Haroon, of the Seychelles was appointed by Dr. Eduardo Missoni of the World Organization of the Scout Movement as the new Regional Director for the World Scout Bureau Africa Regional Office in July 2006, in agreement with the Africa Regional Scout Committee...

, who was born in the Seychelles, was appointed Regional Director for the World Scout Bureau Africa Regional Office.

External links

• Seychelles Project of London Scouts