Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire met with Scouts from Wombourne and Brewood who will be travelling to the 23rd World Scout Jamboree, which is taking place in Kirara-hama in Southern Japan.
The Scouts selected are part of United 44 (The West Mercia Unit) who were chosen for the trip in January 2014. Once places had been confirmed each Scout had to raise almost £3,000.00 to cover their travel, food and equipment costs.
The five Scouts travelling to Japan, four from Wombourne and one from Brewood, have all been involved in a variety of fundraising events. With support from their Scout and Explorer Leaders, family and friends, the local community, Schools, Church and Community groups they have held Bag Packs, Quiz Nights, Live Band Night, Car Washes, Fashion Show, Pig Racing and Coffee Mornings.
The Scouts will begin their trip in Tokyo taking part in a range of activities such as visiting Skytree, an earthquake centre before taking the Bullet Train to join the Jamboree. There they will take part in Cultural, Community and Nature projects, visit the Global Development Village (GDV) which raises awareness of global issues such as peace, the environment, human rights and health. There will also be a visit to Hiroshima and spend two nights living in traditional Japanese homes with local families. The Scouts will also visit locations across Japan from the Tropical Pacific Island of Okinawa to the northern prefectures of Hokkaido close to the Russian Boarder.
After meeting the Scouts Gavin said: “I had a great time meeting the Scouts who are heading off to Japan tomorrow. The amount of effort that each Scout has put in, raising a huge amount of money for their trip, is truly inspirational and we should all be very proud of them. The World Scout Jamboree is an amazing opportunity to interact and participate with others from different cultures and to build solidarity and understanding across the world and I very much look forward to hearing about their trip when they return.”