By Nolan Beilstein Twenty-four professionals and leaders of Scouts Mongolia attended a training camp in Batsumber, Tov, Mongolia last week from June 25-29. Led by adviser for special needs, member of the World Scout Committee , Peter Blatch of Australia, and Director of the Youth Programme at World Organization of the Scout Movement, Syd Castillo of the Philippines, the camp focused on the handling of children with special needs in order to enhance the awareness and expand the knowledge of children with special needs in Mongolia. For four days, the participants covered various special needs including autism and blindness, among many others, that plague today’s youth and discussed the best ways to handle them. Members first learned the meaning of each disability, the history of each disability and its cause followed by activities simulating dealing with a child with special needs. The hands-on activities included reading Braille, assisting a blindfolded person feigning blindness, identifying objects used to assist children with special needs, the appropriate reaction to a seizing person, CPR and numerous others with the assistance of a doctor and therapist on site. Following the four day camp, Blatch discussed its effectiveness and the lasting impressions it made. “The workshop was a great learning experience for all involved. It was valuable to share different ways to involve people with special needs into scouting. The energies and experiences shared at the workshop will assist making scouting available to all young people in Mongolia. The creativity and commitment of the leaders in attendance will make Scouting even stronger,” said Blatch. Following the training camp, scout members returned to Ulaanbaatar looking to apply their learnings in their troops and their communities while also spreading the awareness of children with special needs across the country of Mongolia.