Anyone got a Scout or Explorer going to WSJ in South Korea?

[lazylittlelucy]

Just thought I'd start a thread for parents if there are any on here.
My 17yo DD is going as an Explorer and is getting excited now.
Anyone else?

I've a lump in my throat watching knowing my DS is watching - luckily they arrived in good time and have eaten and set up tents etc. it's like watching the Olympics opening ceremony just with smaller people

I know - daft Mum
That I am

You're not daft at all Bealola

I'm getting FB Memories pop up from when my dc went. Am just loving seeing them - such wonderful experiences.

Not daft at all. UK Contingent posted an Instagram story of the units setting off on their coaches, all excited - I may have had something in my eye.

Well, they have now officially started 😀. Dd has sent some pics and videos and the atmosphere looks great, if crowded. She says it's fab meeting and talking to all the different people.
Campsite looks basic but dry and sunny for now. The heat may get a bit wearing for them I fear, but I'm sure they'll manage 🤩

The official newswebsite for the Jambo
https://25wsjnewsroom.imweb.me/?fbclid=IwAR1IlFxuL6jn4aISIWElb-VA1lXIokNwwwr1B7CAzt_ep3LblCbtW3w41CE

Very worried about the reports this morning: just listening to an interview with a Dutch IST member.. sounds enormously chaotic. Deep respect for all volunteers, but also upset about risks that were avoidable.. a bad location, enormous scale..

i dont spose the monsoon season was the best time

Where was this report?

It was on Dutch radio earlier this morning talking about situation after the opening ceremony. I do believe for most kids it is tough but they are fine. We had some messages shared from our unit which were largely positive so take some comfort from that. I think it is clear the situation is not ideal, but news maybe also sensationalising a bit. The prior floods and heatwave seem to have caught out the organisation, and I am not convinced they adequately assessed risks of likely weather extremes.
But I also believe that situation will continue to improve, and the vast majority will have a great time. But it is a shame to start off this way

I agree about the way people report things.
I know our Unit was delayed, but when they arrived on site, tired, and frustrated, they had about 70 people from other Units and from IST who then built their camp for them, and then a neighbouring Unit that cooked for them so they have been vastly appreciative that - when things have gone wrong - they are surrounded by Scouts from around the World who have seen what needed to be done and just rolled their sleeves up and got it done.

instagram.com/stories/unit74uk25wsj/3161120011330700489?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=NjFhOGMzYTE3ZQ==

Looks like they are having fun to me 😁

Can't quote on this app it seems, but, @UsingChangeofName this sounds a fine example of scouting... a combined effort and the co-operation of friends and peers. I'd like to think that everyone on site is looking out for one another 🥰

Not a parent, but an explorer leader, we have two Explorers at the Jamboree and had two last time as well. I had no idea about the issues at the jamboree site.

It makes me very emotional every time I see anything about the jamboree on social media because I know how life changing these experiences can be. I have a lot of friends who have been to previous jamborees and I have participated in international scouting events in the UK and abroad and there is something magical when scouts from all over the world come together. I am hoping to apply to go as a leader in the future when DD is a bit older.

I think it is very difficult. It is a huge event and there will be blips and there will be people who are ill, that's what happens when you have so many thousand people in one place. It is a shame that people are complaining in public comments on the UK Contingent social media, especially when they won't have had anything to do with the problems.

I'm not saying everything is perfect. It never is on such a huge scale and there will of course be lessons learned.

I think young people having wobbles is too be expected too. For the vast majority a week of camp or school trip will be the longest they have been away so the realisation that they still have another 2 weeks to go at the point at which they are feeling knackered and would like a night in their own bed will mean some are a bit homesick and weepy and that makes any teething problems seem a thousand times worse. Most of them will I'm sure pick up again and go on to have an amazing time.

Exactly @OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea. DD is at the older end of the scale at 17 and a half and is generally fairly tough. But I fully expect and have warned her that at about halfway through, when she has camped for 6 nights and has another 6 to go, she will likely have a wobble. And that was before we reckoned with the heat they are having to endure.
All that notwithstanding, she and all the others will still have an amazing time, will meet people and experience things they otherwise wouldn't have, and will remember it as a positive experience for the rest of their lives.

There is no way to spin it, the basic infrastructure has been an utter shambles (polite term!). Shelter, water, food, ground conditions, cleanliness, lack of cooling facilities, lack of transport. How much of this can be resolved remains to be seen. I've heard that fleets of air-conditioned buses are about to arrive.

The positive is that, thank goodness, everyone on site is a Scout, and has, hopefully, the resilience and spirit to cope and support others.

The shame of it is that all the issues were avoidable and should have been resolved beforehand.

"The government will use its all resources to ensure that the jamboree can end safely amid the heatwave," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told a special cabinet meeting called by the president to approve spending 6 billion won (€4.1m) to support the jamboree.

This is from RTE news that my brother sent me this morning. Sending in €4 million is a good thing ...

Provided it can be spent immediately! Let's hope so.

Have you all seen the email from UK contingent?? 😲😔

No but assume it is what my. Ds has just come to tell me as his gf has messaged him to say that they are being pulled out.

I'm shocked. I guess it is very hard to tell what is really going on.

BBC breaking news article also published

Are they coming home or just being put up in hotels?

A statement from the UK's largest scouting organisation said its group will be moved into hotels "over the next two days" in a bid to "alleviate the pressure on the site overall".

Wow what an utter embarrassment and car crash.

I have to say the authorisation of £3.6million in a contingency fund earlier today raised by eyebrows. What the hell can they spend that on in a short period other that to put the kids up in hotels?

Sounds like plug has been pulled at this point.

Unbelievable that the South Korean government allegedly spent £120million on this.