To celebrate the birth of the founder of scouting - Lord Baden-Powell was conducted by the Colombo District Scout Association.
Zahira College, Colombo played host to more than 600 Cubs. Scouts & Girls in Scouting from over 30 troops who participated in the day-long programme.
Commencing with prayers followed by the National Anthem, the scouts observed a moment of silence in memory of the Founder. The scouts then re-affirmed the Scout Promise which was proclaimed in Sinhala, Tamil & English.
DC Amil Abeysundera, welcomed the large gathering which also included ADCs, DSMs, Scouters, Akelas and parents. He also expressed the sincere appreciation and thanks of the Colombo District Scout Association to the Principal & staff of Zahira College for hosting the event and for the excellent facilities provided.
Principal Mr Trizviiy Marikkar who was the Chief Guest surprised the audience with his tri-lingual oratory skills, addressing them in Sinhala, Tamil & English. Though not being a scout himself, he was very knowledgeable on scouting and the values that children could derive from the movement. Stressing on the importance of education beyond the curriculum, he identified scouting as an area which could play a major role in the developing the personal lives of children. Referring to the depletion of moral values among youth nowadays, he stated," If one opens one's minds, you may find that the current education system is the cause for this. As Lord Baden-Powell believed, training the minds of scouts from the Singithi, Cub and Scout ages can mould them into citizens of value and useful to the country. Zahira firmly believes in these concepts and shall promote the scout movement within the school and the community".
The scouts enthusiastically participated in the Arts, Speech, Essay & General Knowledge competitions under the scouting themes. A significant feature was that participants were allowed to use any of the three languages.
The winners received certificates & medals , while arrangements are being made to present Certificates of Participation to all others.
Deputy Chief Commissioner Janaprith Fernando led the scouts in a rendition of the popular action song BPs Spirit, which also saw the parents joining in. Guests of Honour - Special Commissioner MFS Muheed, former Programmes Commissioner W Pathmasiri and ADC - Admin. Indrajith Ramanayake also joined him in distributing awards to the winners.
Wijaya Publishers supported the event as media partner.
Concluding the event, DSM Irshad Razzak who coordinated the programme thanked all those who voluntarily came forward to support, organise and conduct the event to a successful conclusion. He particularly mentioned the guest teachers who served as judges and the strong support team which consisted of DSMs, Scouters, Rovers & Scouts from the District.