Although a Scout must take off his uniform at the age of eighteen, the Boy Scout values learned however during his youth last a lifetime.
My name is Leo Redmond. I am 28 years old. I am an Eagle Scout from Troop 113 Rockaway, NJ of the Patriot’s Path Council. I currently live in Istanbul, Turkey serving as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. In this capacity I am learning Turkish and performing community service projects with local Rotary Clubs in order to fulfill their motto of Service Above Self.
In a recent trip to the Republic of Georgia, a small nation nestled in the Caucasus Mountains located northeast of Turkey between the Black Sea and the countries of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. I had an experience that returned me to my scouting roots.
Georgia is a country of 4.6 million people where the official spoken and written language is Georgian. To clarify, the Georgian language does not use the Roman alphabet like English or Spanish but instead employs its own separate letters collectively known as Kartuli. Thus, in the Georgian language (Kartuli), the country of Georgia is known as Sak’art’velo.
As I was walking around the city of Batumi, located in the southwestern corner of Georgia in what is officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, I turned a corner along the cobble stone streets of this colonial city and was struck silent by what I saw.
The words SCOUT MOVEMENT in large English letters were cast in a burnished bronze above the Fleur de lis on a wrought iron window grate of a one-story office building.
As happenstance would have it, my arrival and awestruck countenance occurred at 5 o’clock and coincided with a woman locking the door to leave for the evening.
She saw me, smiled and in English asked if she could help. Composing myself, I said that I was a Boys Scout from the United States of America. I pointed at the sign and curiosity getting the best of me, said that I wanted to know all about it. Could this be the same Scouts that has played such an important part in my life I wondered.
Her smile got larger and without hesitation she reopened the door and accompanied us in. Scout badges, pictures and equipment colored the office and were reminiscent of so many other scouting centers that I had visited before. In terms of geographic distance between the United States and Georgia I was worlds away from home, yet our shared enthusiasm and understanding of the tenets of the Boy Scout Organization provided for an electrifying sense of familiarity and kinship.
I had just made the acquaintance of Ms. Shorena Lomadze, the Chairman of the Adjarian Organization of the Georgian Scout Movement.
This dedicated and dynamic women had single handedly brought the Scouting Movement to the Autonomous Republic of Adjara twelve years ago. According to the World Organization of the Scout Movement (www.scout.org) which represents 160 international recognized scout organizations, the Georgian Scout Movement (Scouts of Georgia) was officially founded in 1994 and currently has 1240 member Scouts.
As 5 pm quickly turned to 6 pm and onwards I realized that Ms. Lomadze was graciously giving me carte blanche of her time and an open invitation to the city of Batumi and the country of Georgia. She told of how she started with next to nothing and only a handful of interested youths and has since grown into an organization of 150 strong. She says that a particular Scoutmaster for the Sam Houston Council that she met at a World Jamboree she attended has helped her immeasurable. More than financial support, the two councils have forged a relationship that sees the regular exchange of Scouts and the collaboration on international projects.
The Scouts of the Adjarian Organization of the Georgian Scout Movement consists of both males and females. They perform community service projects in the city of Batumi (122,000 people), hold camping trips and run leadership programs in the surrounding snowed capped Caucasus Mountains and promote the ideals of the Boy Scouts through their actions and efforts.
To honor my visit to her home country, although unexpected and unannounced, Ms. Lomadze presented me with one of the first Georgian Scout Patches. A circular patch, stitched in blue upon a white background, it shows the words “Scouts of Georgia” written in both English and Georgian (Kartuli) along the top and bottom and the Fleur de lis in the center colored in blue, yellow, red and green. These colors represent the Autonomous Region of Adjara, the country of Georgia and the Boys Scout Movement.
This patch, worn and well traveled, is a valued gift and as I turn it over in my hand, it has come to tell its story of a genuine connection and commitment between all of us through the Scouting Movement and the hope of a lasting friendship to come.
Ms. Lomadze exemplifies what and who it is to be a Scout and lives the Boy Scout Motto Ikavi Mzad. To Be Prepared.
She has taken the noble endeavor of Boy Scouts and put those values learned into daily practice so that all youths the world over should have the opportunity to learn and live from them. This is a challenge for all of us to follow, whether in Batumi, Georgia, Istanbul, Turkey, Rockaway, New Jersey or a Hometown near you.
