Marshall Islands Scouts in the LDS Church

Curtis Vila, a Scoutmaster for an LDS troop in Majuro, Marshall Islands, shared this story:

“What a wonderful privilege to be able to serve the youth of today in this modern times. We have started out small yet with the unwavering support of parents, and fellow ward members miracles started to happen. Now another neighboring ward has joined in and the youth of these two wards started to come out to our meetings and eventually all returned back. I've enjoyed scouting before and I can't imagine being active in the church without it. My wife is also focusing on the Pack.

“Now we are on our 9th Troop Meeting. We have 20 Young Men in our 2 patrols and we customize our weekly program plans to address the local needs of the youth. We will continue to do our best to serve these youth in our Troop as we know what scouting means to boys.”

New Units and Advancement

Four New Units Started in Ebeye as Scouts in Kosrae and Majuro Advance

Above: New Scouts in Troop 422 showing off their new Scout uniforms... Two Cub Scout Packs and Two Boy Scout Troops were started in November 2010 on the island of Ebeye, Republic of the Marshall Islands. These two units, chartered by the LDS Church, are the first units started in Ebeye in almost 10 years. In an area where there is little opportunity for youth, Scouting is beginning to see progress toward helping the youth of the island.

On other islands of the Pacific, Scouting continues to grow and provide strong opportunities for boys. The youth of Troops 741 and 742, in Kosrae, FSM, have enjoyed advancement in Scouting and have earned their Second Class Scout rank and are working on their First Class. In Majuro, Marshall Islands, Scout Roger Muller, with Troop 454, chartered to the Co-op School, has earned his First Class rank. He is the first Scout in the Marshall Islands to earn this rank. He has since turned 18 and is now an Assistant Scoutmaster.

PBS Leader Training

Youth Protection Training taught to over 200 leaders of PBS


(Above: Hirobo Obeketang teaches Majuro District Leaders Youth Protection Training)

The Boy Scouts of America began a new policy of caring for our youth in May 2010, and in keeping with that policy, the adult leaders within the Pacific Basin have turned out in large numbers to receive this training.

The YPT is a major step forward in an area where protection of youth is not a priority. The training introduced by the BSA is bringing the needs of youth, and their importance to the minds of Scouting and the community.

Island Leaders from Four Nation/States attend Wood Badge and PBS Conference

Scouting in the Pacific Basin reached a major milestone and objective when six Island leaders and one Island Commissioner attended Wood Badge and the PBS Conference in August 2010. These leaders attended the first cluster course of the Aloha Council and helped make up the largest Wood Badge course in the Council’s history.

The leaders that attended included Bell Tosie of Kosrae, Derek Cepeda of Guam, Hirobo Obeketang, Herson Aloka and Martin Baso of the Republic of the Marshall and Islands, Dr. Ernest Oo of American Samoa and Jack Metcalf, Island Commissioner from Houston, Texas.

Along with the Wood Badge course, the PBS leaders received training on Youth Protection, Leave No Trace, Developing Community Partnerships, District Leadership Training Workshop, Trainer Development using the EDGE model and many other focuses. The leaders returned to their home island prepared to share what they have learned with local community leaders and Scouts. From this training, many will benefit.

Marshall Islands advances Scouting Program

Majuro, Marshall Islands, under the leadership of Island Director Hirobo Obeketang and chairman Kenneth Kramer, is preparing to hold two camp programs this summer, the first on July 1-4 and the second on July 30-Aug 1. These two camps will introduce merit badges and the BSA advancement program to the Scouts in Majuro.

Three merit badges will be offered to our Scouts including Basketry, Art and Fingerprinting, along with Scout skills requirements of the Tenderfoot rank. To prepare for this, Scout leaders on Majuro took part in a 3-day seminar on merit badges, merit badge counseling and rank advancement held two hours each afternoon. Interest in the program increased so much, as word spread, that by the third day attendance at the seminar had doubled.

The training seminar was combined with preparation to participate in the 2009 Republic of the Marshall Islands Flag Day ceremonies, held on May 1st. Individuals from the Department of Public Safety were invited to teach the leaders how to drill their Scouts to prepare them for marching in the Flag Day celebration. Uniform donations were also secured for most of the Scouts participating. In all, over 100 Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts marched in the Flag Day parade.

These same Scouts are now preparing to take part in the Boy Scout summer camps, which will be held on the small islet of Enemanit. Funding for this camp will provided primarily by PII, Inc. and Do It Best Hardware.

Chief Scout Executive visits the Pacific Basin

Chief Scout Executive, Robert Mazzuca, and a contingent of national, regional and local Scout leaders, toured parts of the Pacific region in March to celebrate the success of Scouting in the Pacific. The group visited the islands of Guam, Saipan and Majuro, with special stops in Kosrae and Ebeye.

During their visit CSE Mazzuca helped award five Awards of Merit on several islands and the Silver Beaver to Jerry Kramer in Majuro, Marshall Islands. Jerry is a long-time Scouter and founder of Troop 454 in Majuro. He is the head of PII and annually donates the resources needed for our summer camp on Enemanit. This marks the first time a Scouter in the Marshall Islands has received this prestigious award. Additionally, on a very short stop-over in Kwajalein, the Chief attended an Eagle Scout presentation for two Scouts, along with the Base Commander Col. Reid.

The highlight of the trip was in Majuro where the group dropped in on a camporee on the small islet of Enemanit, a part of the Majuro atoll system. The camporee was attended by about 400 Scouts from several of the neighboring islands. The Chief and his party traveled to the islet using a traditional Marshallese outrigger canoe, called a korkor. They spent the day participating with the youth in traditional activities like fire-starting, basket weaving, coconut husking, and fishing. At the end of the visit, as the group was boarding the boat, they were treated to a sight of 400 youth lining the dock and singing farewell.

2008 PBS Summer Camps

Summer Camp programs were held throughout the Pacific this year, with over 1,000 youth attending camps in Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Majuro. Cub Scout Day Camps were also held throughout the islands. The need for Scouting becomes so clear when even girls from the local villages show up for our annual camps and events.

The summer camp experience is used to help build a knowledge of personal culture along with Scouting skills. In place of materials like reed or raffia, Scouts learn to weave with local materials like coconut and pandanus leaves. But many traditional Scouting skills, knot-tying, orientation, first aid, etc. are also taught to the boys. One of the favorites among the islanders is hiking or marching along trails and roadways. As they hike through villages they will sing the Scouting songs they have learned and yell their troop and patrol cheers.

Special thanks must be given to those organizations that contribute many resources to help these camps become a reality; groups like Triple-J Enterprises, Pacific International Inc., Lions Club of Pago Pago, Do It Best Hardware and the various government and private agencies that support our Scouting efforts.