Scouts worldwide continue to show solidarity with others during the COVID-19 pandemic and our network of BP Fellows has shared news of the fantastic efforts under way in Lebanon.
Read on for a snapshot from just four of the 32 Scout Associations, which make up the Lebanese Scouting Federation, all of which are serving their communities as they can, sharing key information to help prevent spread the virus; assisting the most vulnerable; running Scouting online to give young people access to a wealth of activities and support systems when on lockdown and support their mental health—all the time adhering to health advice and restrictions in place.
We invite you to support the efforts of Scouts like these worldwide by donating to the Scouts Emergency Response Fund to COVID-19 (click here). And remember, if you are a BP Fellow, any donations you make on the project donate page can be counted towards your ongoing fellowship!
Scouts de l’Independence are running Scouting online via their “We-EMeet—connected for wellbeing” site, animated with a great range of educational activities, arts, crafts, fitness and fun challenges for young people to help them to take part in Scouting whilst at home during the pandemic and nurture their wellbeing and personal development.
They are active in supporting the diffusion of national health advice and the importance of staying home at this time, in solidarity with frontline workers, including many Scout doctors on duty (see photos), who don’t have the possibility to see their own families right now.
These messages are also being shared by other frontline Scouts working in healthcare, emergency and essential services, for example Fouad Maurice Azar, a fourth generation Lebanese Scout from the Scouts du Liban and firefighter, shown in the photos.
The Lebanon Scout Association (LSA) is running Scout awareness campaigns:
- “Hand to Heart”: encouraging people to stop using the handshake to salute each other during this crisis to decrease the virus transmission;
- “Spreading Hope and Positive Messages”: to remember that better days are ahead, and not lose hope;
- “We are Because they are”: a small act of solidarity to express support and appreciation for the medical, health and social care workers and emergency personnel on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- “Making Health and Nutrition a Priority During Covid-19”: including tips prepared by Scouts to help maintain optimal health. Click here for more info.
LSA Scout volunteers are also active helping other local NGOs to organise food collection drives to support the families hit hardest by the lockdown. And to help Scouts to interact with each other, LSA has recently launched eScouting. The online programme includes morning exercises, cooking recipes, virtual tours, awareness sessions, online campfires and more. You can watch a recording here of their first online campfire (4 April), featuring some very talented Scouts.
Scouts from the Arab Scout Association are active, in particular in the Tripoli area, helping local municipalities in food box distribution and providing other essential deliveries to people, including the most vulnerable and jobless who are quarantined at home. They are also active distributing masks and information on coronavirus, supporting online and media campaigns to diffuse government health advice as widely as possible.
We invite you to support the efforts of Scouts like these worldwide by donating to the Scouts Emergency Response Fund to COVID-19 (click here). And remember, if you are a BP Fellow, any donations you make on the project donate page can be counted towards your ongoing fellowship.
