A Hanwell-based Scout volunteer has told of the reasons why he got involved five years ago and wants to see more people become volunteers.
Diogene (Dio) De Souza, who works at Heathrow Airport, found out about the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award as part of the graduate scheme at the airport.
His mum and dad had been involved in Scouting in Goa and he decided it was his time to volunteer with Scouts locally. He contacted the Scouts in Ealing and Hanwell and in September 2019 his journey as a volunteer with the Scouts started.
During the Duke of Edinburgh award, he decided that he wanted to continue working with Explorer Scouts (boys and girls aged 14 to 17). Dio said one of the reasons was that he also enjoyed seeing the young people try new activities, learn and develop new skills and become leaders of the future.
Dio decided that he wanted to be able to offer more adventurous activities to the young people. He completed the training and assessments for taking young people on camps and gained his hill walking permit and is now a county advisor for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
Dio said: “The reason I volunteer is that it gives me so much enjoyment. The other volunteers bring different skills, knowledge and experience and it’s great to see how we all work as a team. The young people learn, develop and mature in the maximum of four years they can be an Explorer Scout for. They will learn and develop leadership, teamwork, communication, resilience, confidence and independence skills. They will also learn practical skills such as cooking, camping, first aid, navigation, safety, planning and walking in the hills.”
He added: “If you want to be a volunteer with any of the Scout sections (boys and girls aged 4 to 17), please contact www.scouts.org.uk. You will get a sense of purpose, pride and satisfaction, a willingness to get stuck in, discover news things and make some great friends.”
