The Project Begins

Just a recap to set the scene: 18 members of Scouts Canada, from Tri-Shores Council have come to Paraguay, to the city of Fernando de la Mora, to help rebuild a primary school. The youth and adults have been busy preparaing, planning, and fundraising for over two years. The building project has been funded by a grant from the Canadian Scout Brotherhood Fund, which is supported by the annual Scoutrees fundraiser. What this means is that, although there are 18 Venturers, Rovers and Advisors here in Paraguay, the project is really a combination of the efforts of nearly 100 000 members of Scouting across Canada and Paraguay.


Now, to business: We're sitting, about to eat lunch at the National Scout Office of La Asociacion de Scouts del Paraguay, where we will be staying over the course of the project. After arriving on Friday evening, we have been busy getting used to the weather and enjoying the food and culture of Paraguay. Everyone got to spend time with a host family for some home hospitality over the weekend. We're a little more tanned than when we started, but our enthusiasm for this project is only increasing. After lunch, we're headed to school.

This afternoon, we're going to be taking a good look with Nelson the architect to go over all the tasks that will be completed over the next 18 days before we return home. Our greatest endeavour is to complete the project entirely before we have to leave. We all realize that this will require a large amount of dedication and hard work, two things that we have been learning all about over the last two years' of preparation.

The weather has been spectacular (it's been around 25'C during the day...thankfully it's the winter) and the Paraguayan Scout Association has been nothing short of amazing. We're ready for work and we'll let you know how things are going. Check back soon to see more about this aspect of Scouts Canada: Community Development.