WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
The Brotherhood Fund is Canadian Scouting's primary financial means of
supporting projects in World Scouting's Community Development Program
in countries where the need is demonstrated.
WHAT IS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?
Community development is a process by which individuals and groups
within a community work to improve the quality of life for themselves and
their community at large.
In the projects helped by Scouting organizations, groups of Scouts in needy
countries identify and carry out projects to improve their lives.
WHERE DO WE COME IN?
Scouts in wealthier countries like Canada help Scouts in needy countries
get
started on the road to self sufficiency. Grants from the Brotherhood Fund
provide the "seed money" for many and various community development
projects.
Canadian Scouts become educated about community development. They
become more responsible and resourceful members of their own
communities by gaining an understanding of the problems many young
people have to live with in developing countries.
EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS?
Brotherhood Fund grants help in many ways. For example: The World
Scouting community moved fast in 1998 when Nicaragua and Honduras
were devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The Brotherhood Fund assisted these
efforts with a contribution of $20,000.
A short time later, parts of Colombia were destroyed by an earthquake.
Once
again the Brotherhood Fund provided a grant of $10,000 to the Colombian
Scout Association to aid its work in providing direct relief to earthquake
victims.
In July 1998 a group of 14 Venturers and six advisors travelled to Costa
Rica
to assist in building a forestry training centre and auxiliary cabin in
partnership with local Scouts. A grant of $25,000 helped the group purchase
materials for this project.
Currently the Brotherhood Fund is providing on-going support to several
projects around the world through a recently implemented five year plan.
Shi-Won Hong, a young Korean girl travels to Montreal regularly for
rehabilitation treatment and new artificial legs. This project began in
1991
when Shi-Won lost her legs in an accident when she was three years old.
It
was started by members of the Canadian contingent to the 17th World
Jamboree. This is a long term project as Shi-Won will need new artificial
legs
every one or two years until she is fully grown. Fund raising for this
project
is therefore, an ongoing activity.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
About 15% of all revenue generated by Scoutrees for Canada goes into the
Brotherhood Fund. In this annual project, Canadian Scouts obtain financial
pledges from people in their communities to sponsor them in planting
millions of tree seedlings.
Individuals, Scout groups, Scouter's Clubs, training courses and local
Scout
Councils make direct donations to the Brotherhood Fund from their own
resources or from organized fund-raising projects.
A number of provincial and regional councils have been able to support
Brotherhood Fund projects directly in the last few years. In some cases
this
has led to Canadian Scouts and Venturers travelling to countries like Kenya
or Ghana to work alongside African Scouts to build a health clinic or a
school. In a very significant way this has helped Canadian youth and adults
appreciate the importance of community development in the developing
world.
HOW CAN WE GET MORE INVOLVED?
Learn about life in developing countries. As a group, get involved with
your
district, regional or provincial council in accepting responsibility for
a
project in the Third World.
Get involved in a fund-raising project to contribute to the Brotherhood
Fund. Read the Canadian Leader magazine for further news about world
Scouting community development.
Participate in Scoutrees for Canada. Fifteen cents of every dollar raised
goes to the Brotherhood Fund. Planting trees also contributes to the
ecological health of our own local communities.
