A Hanwell Scout Volunteer Explains His Motivation
Diogene De Souza says it gives him a sense of purpose
Dio (second left) with other Scout volunteers
June 25, 2024
A Scout volunteer based in Hanwell has spoken of his reasons for devoting much of his free time to the movement and
Diogene (Dio) De Souza works at Heathrow and became aware of the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award when he started on the airport’s Graduate Scheme.
As his parents had been involved in Scouting in Goa, he decided that he would volunteer with Scouts locally to help gain the award.
He contacted the Scouts in Ealing and Hanwell and in September 2019 his journey as a volunteer with Scouts started. The first evening was “Trading Post” and according to Dio, it was ‘manic’ but he thoroughly enjoyed it and was hooked.
Part way through the Duke of Edinburgh award, he decided that he wanted to continue working with Explorer Scouts (boys and girls aged 14 to17). He was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the other leaders and the young people. He also enjoyed seeing them 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 and therefore completed the training and assessments for taking them on camps and gained his hill walking permit. He is also now a County Advisor for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
He actively encourages the 91 Explorers in his Unit to get involved in planning, organising and delivering the programme for each term. He encourages them to work towards the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme as he knows how beneficial this will be. He encourages many of the young people in the Unit to be young leaders and to help out at Squirrels, Beavers and Cubs.
Over 30% of the Explorers have been on an International trip and they are currently planning to go to Kandersteg in Switzerland next year.
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.”
Dio 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.”
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