The Arab Catholic Scouts in Jerusalem was founded in 1928 as a part of the Scout Movement that began in 1907 with Sir Robert Baden-Powell.
The Group has a full membership status in the Palestinian Scout Movement and the Catholic Federation of Scouts in the World.
The mission of the Arab Catholic Scouts - Jerusalem is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society.
This is achieved by...
1. Involving the scout members throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process.
2. Using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent of his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person.
3. Assisting the scout members to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law.
The main objective of the Arab Catholic scouts is reaching the youth in Jerusalem (The old City and its suburbs) by supporting them in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in the Palestinian society.
Basically the Arab Catholic Scouts in Jerusalem works towards achieving three main aims...
- One is growth in moral strength and character. We may define this as what the boy/girl is himself/herself; his/her personal qualities, his/her values, his/her outlook.
- A second is participating citizenship (the boy's/girl's relationship to others). He/she comes to learn obligations to other people, to the society he/she lives in and hopefully in the near future to the government.
- A third aim of Boy/Girl Scouting is development of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. Fitness includes the body (well-tuned and healthy), the mind (able to think and solve problems), and the emotions (self-control, courage, and self-respect).
To achieve these aims, the Arab Catholic scouts employs as other scouts in the world "the Scout method", a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, hiking and sports.
Organization activities
The scout's activities are in essences based on the mission of the scout group as well as its objectives. The activities range from...
1. Training the scout boys and girls on the essentials of the scouting skills and activities.
2. Training of the musical band that includes the pipes group.
3. Offering fitness sessions for women living in the old city.
4. A Gym and weight lifting for youth of the old city.
5. An internet café.
6. Providing a place for families to spend their leisure time, by providing a billiard table…Ping-Pong …etc.
7. Participating in the different religious and national occasion
One of the main aims of Workcamps is to expose the internationals to Palestinian culture, folklore, heritage and politics, with a focus on the Israeli occupation, illegal violations and continuous attempts to bury Palestinian culture and right to exist in their own country. We believe that working side by side, and living the daily reality of the Palestinian people will give the real picture of the situation on the ground.
Our cultural program consists of meetings with local community leaders, lectures by politicians, feminists and economists, field visits to local associations working in community development and finally documentary films that shows the real meaning of a military occupation.
