Scouts are ready to take on Japanese adventure
EXPERIENCED scouts Alex Richmond and Alex Fray are looking forward to the trip of a lifetime when they fly to Yamaguchi in Japan to team up with 25,000 young men and women for the World Scout Jamboree.
The pair of Explorer Scouts are part of a team of seven scouts from the Macclesfield and Congleton District selected for the special trip.
They have been busily raising the £3,500 they each need to finance it.
Alex Richmond, from Macclesfield, said: “There has been a lot of bag packing in local supermarkets and the people of Macclesfield and Congleton have been very generous,”
The 12-day trip starts on July 24.
In Japan they will spend a week at the World Scout Jamboree before going off in pairs to stay with Japanese families and learn about daily life on the other side of the planet.
The pair have been in the scouts since they could barely rub two sticks together and would recommend the lifestyle to any young person.
Alex Richmond said: “It’s been incredible. All my mates are in scouts and it’s very sociable. I’ve been skydiving, caving, on camp and learned many skills and am now off to Japan and I’m only 17.”
Alex Fray, 15, from Congleton, added: “You can do as much or as little as you want. If you’ve had a hard day, you can just go along to relax and have fun. Nothing is forced on anyone.”
The two Alexes were selected from 40 Macclesfield and Congleton scouts from the district’s 3,500 contingent of scouts who put themselves forward for the trip.
Alex Richmond added: “We were assessed during a camp for who showed the best team-working, leadership and general scouting skills and we were lucky enough to get through.”
During their visit there will be a trip to Hiroshima to learn from the events of 1945. Participants will visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, including the museum.
The trip also includes a day looking at nature in Yamaguchi City and looking at the advances in science and technology and the benefits and problems associated with science.
This programme includes looking at the development of fuel cells and other energy sources for the future, ecological problems, and robotics and automotive technologies.
There will also be water activities such as sailing, windsurfing and rafting.
‘We were lucky enough to get through’