THE  plethora of stories are ugly and paints a bleak picture of the modern Guyanese youth, but there is yet hope.

Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded the scout movement in 1907 and, two years after, Sergeant Major George Manley, a member of the British Regiment stationed in then British Guiana, established a group in the elite Queen’s College – making this country the first country in the Caribbean to have done so.  Membership was limited to the upper-class youths.

The scout movement is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young persons in their physical, mental and spiritual development so that they may play constructive roles in society.

A circular to media houses describes the scout association as: “…a movement of adults and young people freely and voluntarily committed to development and to making the world a better place.  We are a non-formal educational movement, complementary to the family and school, working towards the holistic development and continuous education of young people.”
The movement intentionally obscures all differences of social standing and promotes equality in its membership throughout the world.
All its activities are clean, educational and uplifting to the entire character of individuals, who can join the movement from as early as age seven, and they are all taught to lead as well as to follow in a structure of discipline and an environment of healthy behavioural practices.
World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) describes scouting as: “…a voluntary non-political educational movement for young people, open to all without distinction of origin, race or creed, in accordance with the purpose, principles and method conceived by the founder.”  It continues, “It is the goal of scouting to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.”

The foregoing principles describe a code of behaviour for all members and characterize the movement in its holistic drive to create a better world peopled with citizens who are driven by human and humane considerations rather than the supremacy of self.
The seven primary elements driving these core principles comprise:  law and promise; learning by doing; team system; symbolic framework; personal progression; nature and the environment; and adult support.
The scout movement depends heavily on volunteers and funding from commercial houses.
However, the Government needs to take a long, hard look at the downward spiral of behavioural patterns of youths, even in the school system and create a partnership with such a movement.
Granted, Government has driven many initiatives that target the development of youths.  Nevertheless, communities need to take a more proactive approach to support these initiatives; and scouting focuses and is largely supported by volunteers at community level who transcend every divide to address the extant and emerging challenges facing the young persons of the current generation.
The various ministries dealing with youths, especially the education ministry, as well as volunteers from the retired adult population should partner with this excellent youth development movement.