Boy Scouts van Suriname is the national Scouting organization of Suriname. Scouting in Suriname officially started in 1924 and became a member of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

(WOSM) in 1968. The coeducational association has 2,601 members (as of 2004).

History

On September 12, 1910, the "Korps Surinamese Boy Scouts" was established in

Thalia Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to: People * Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name * Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress Mythological and fictional characters * Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...

. In 1915 the name was "Surinaamsche Padvinders Organisatie". There was no more activity, after Scouting was blamed for the drowning of 16-year-old Boy Scout, Herman Sas Römer, on March 13, 1916 in the Dominékreek near Poelepantje. Scouting in Suriname officially restarted on July 29, 1924, when the Surinamese district of the Vereeniging de Nederlandsche Padvinders (NPV) was officially founded in the Thalia theatre in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

. On this occasion, 107 Boy Scouts, many Cub Scouts and some girls made their

Scout Promise The Scout Promise (or Oath) is a spoken statement made by a child joining the Scout movement. Since the publication of ''Scouting for Boys'' in 1908, all Scouts and Girl Guides around the world have taken a Scout (or Guide) promise or oath to li ...

. In 1938, the Dutch Scout movement was split after a decision of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

into the interreligious NPV and the ''Katholieke Verkenners'' (KV). Scouting in Suriname had to follow this despite all protests, so the ''Katholieke Verkenners Suriname'' (KVS) were founded out of the Catholic members of the groups. The logo of the KVS was the same as the KV, a

Fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

for Boy Scouts, on a

cross potent A cross potent (plural: crosses potent), also known as a crutch cross, is a form of heraldic cross with crossbars at the four ends. In French, it is known as '' croix potencée'', in German as a ''Kruckenkreuz'', all translating to "crutch cross ...

for Catholic Scouts. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Surinamese Scouts had to stand alone, since Scouting was banned in the German-occupied

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. So, after the war, the Suriname district of NPV decided to found its own, nearly independent association, the ''Surinaamse Padvinders Vereniging'' (SPV), which was incorporated in 1964. SPV and KVS worked close together and received recognition by WOSM in 1968, seven years before the independence of Suriname. After four years of cooperation both association merged and formed the ''Boy Scouts van Suriname'' on April 23, 1972. The first Chief Scout was

Johan Ferrier Johan Henri Eliza Ferrier (12 May 1910 – 4 January 2010) was a Surinamese politician who served as the 1st president of Suriname from 1975 to 1980. He was also the country's last governor-general before independence, serving from 1968 to 197 ...

.
Johan Ferrier, eerste Chief Scout Suriname
In 1974, the new association hosted the ''5th Caribbean Jamboree''.

Program

The association is divided in three age-groups: *

Cub Scouts Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

(ages 7 to 12) * Scouts (ages 12 to 18) *

Rover Scouts Rover Scouts, Rovers, Rover Scouting or Rovering is a program associated with some Scouting organizations for adult men and women. A group of Rovers is called a 'Rover Crew'. Rovers was originated by The Boy Scouts Association in the United ...

(ages 18 to 24) The

Scout Motto The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of ...

is ''Weest Paraat'', ''Be Prepared'' in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and ''Weest Pareet'' in

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a ''lingua franca'' by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname. Developed originally amo ...

References

* World Scout Bureau (1979), ''Scouting 'Round the World''. 1979 edition. * World Organization of the Scout Movement (1990), ''Scouting 'Round the World''. 1990 edition.

External links

History of Scouting in Suriname
{{WOSM, interamerican World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations Scouting and Guiding in Suriname Youth organizations established in 1924

History

Program

See also

References

External links