JAMBOREE: Scouts get to talk to astronaut

Published on Jan 1, 2003

Above the 20th World Scout Jamboree site yesterday afternoon, Maiyasit Prachamitkij, a 15-year-old scout from Thailand, could see a deep-blue canopy, but he wondered what the view was like from the other side, so he asked American Don Pettit flying by on the International Space Station (ISS).

Yes, Planet Earth still looks blue from outer space and has to be one of the most beautiful places in the whole solar system, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) astronaut answered.

The crowd in the dusty tent with the temporary radio station had burst out in cheers when Pettit replied to the call from E20AJ with the ISS call sign NA1SS.

After more than three years of preparation and Saturday's failure to establish radio contact with the space station, Maiyasit and almost a dozen scouts from Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Belgium yesterday snagged a 10-minute connection on an amateur-radio frequency with the astronaut passing 400 kilometres above the Kingdom.

The questions selected from those posted by scouts from all over the world particularly dealt with life aboard the space station.

"Hi, my name is August. How do you eat your food? How is it cooked? Over," 14-year-old Yaowarat "August" Sriwongkol asked.

An Janssens, 15, from Belgium, was waiting to pose the last question, but the space station had already moved out of range before he could take his turn.

Both Boy and Girl Scouts at the amateur radio station admitted that they were overwhelmed by this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Fantastic! No one else in Thailand could have a chance like this. I bet my contact with a Nasa astronaut will be the talk of my school," said Priyakij "Paul" Buranasilp, 16.

Futoshi Sadoshima, 17, said this experience was indeed something to treasure and his pals back in Japan would be green with envy.

Likewise, Michel Dejaegher, 16, from Belgium, said his encounter with the astronaut had made him more interested in space although he had been told about the possibility of joining in only the day before.

Phermsak Lilakul

THE NATION

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Authorities say scouts asking for condoms

Many scouts have asked for condoms and other forms of contraceptives from clinics and hospitals around the campsite of the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Chon Buri, but to no avail.

Health officials yesterday said they turned down the scouts' requests because executives had yet to approve the distribution of condoms.

Earlier, the Public Health Ministry had reportedly planned to hand out condoms to those who asked for them in a bid to encourage safe sex but the report of the planned distribution drew severe criticism.

Consequently, shops at the campsite had their condom stocks cleared ahead of the opening of the jamboree, while the distribution did not materialise.

Deputy Public Health Minister Pracha Promnok yesterday said his officials could not distribute condoms or other contraceptives without a distribution order from the World Organisation of the Scout Movement.

Yuwarat Kamolvej, the commander of the scout camp, said he believed scouts who asked for condoms must have been those in the International Service Team, which includes adults.

Meanwhile, Pracha said he had received complaints that toilets on the site were clogged. He said he would cooperate with relevant agencies to tackle the problem. "My ministry has no responsibility in this area but we will help inform the officials concerned," he said.

On the scouts' health, he said many scouts had fainted due to the heat but ambulances were on hand to take care of those who fell ill.

"I have also assigned more doctors and nurses to the event," he said.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, an inspector at the Public Health Ministry, said about 4,000 scouts had received medical services from available clinics and hospitals from December 23 to yesterday.

An informed source said a number of foreign scouts were seen eating ice-cream and lying under big trees in order to combat the heat while most Thai scouts, who are used to the hot weather, enjoyed participating in activities.

Thai participants have apparently shied away from making friends with the foreigners because of the language barrier, the source said.

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Diary of a scout

The Jamboree, a word well known around, but no one really knew what it would entail until the first day when the real experience began.

After a long tiring bus journey we were very surprised by the welcome that greeted us. A sea of people flooded the roads all welcoming you with excitement and joy, no prejudice among them, all nations as one with open arms. This is one of the best experiences I ever experienced.

After a while the sub-camps began to take shape with tents and shelters being erected and the dust flying as people moved from place to place. All of this occurred in great heat causing a few casualties such as our unit leader, Malcolm Short.

On Saturday the camp officially opened with sub-camps' opening ceremonies and the overall Jamboree opening ceremony. These were full of passion and excitement causing hysterics among many units and many familiar chants were ringing out.

The Jamboree experience has been a strange one. I have seen Chinese and Italians talking to each other in English. To me, this was strange but we can see that English is an international icebreaker.

The Jamboree has been a fantastic experience so far and it's only been two days. What a fantastic site!

Edward Claringbold, 16, is a Boy Scout from St Aidan's Church of England High School, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

From the 20th World Scout Jamboree underway in Sattahip, Chon Buri, he will be contributing a daily journal for The Nation. This is the first instalment.

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Scouts cap careers by tying the knot

At the heart of any scout jamboree are the friendships forged by the young participants from all over the world. In most cases, these relationships never develop into anything stronger. But for two Canadians, the 20th World Scout Jamboree will mark the beginning of a lifelong commitment they have made to each other.

On Monday night, Marriane Coulomez and David Rippon got married on a wooden bridge over a large pond at the campsite in Chon Buri. They were the first couple to get hitched at the Thai jamboree.

“We met in July, 2001, at the Canadian National Jamboree. We were both on the staff at the jamboree,” Marriane said. Marriane is now a staff member at the International Service Team while David works for the Risk Management Team, which is taking care of security for the campsite.

Since the couple met at a scout jamboree, both of them have high spirit for the scouting events, particularly this World Scout Jamboree.“Scouting is such a big part of both of our lives. This [jamboree] is pretty much the culmination of our scouting careers,” the new bride said.

For David, the wedding ceremony was in line with the spirit of scouting.

Fifty of their close friends and colleagues at the camp attended the wedding.

After the religious ceremony by an American minister, the couple walked down the makeshift aisle on the wooden bridge and encountered the first surprise of their marriage.

“The head of Risk Management Team kindly arranged a line of honour guards to greet us,” David said.

The line was made up of team members in their uniforms holding their sword-like lighting equipment over their heads for the bride and groom to walk under.

David said the couple had been planning the wedding for months and they were fortunate that they could arrange to have their certificate of marriage signed by district officials at the airport.

According to David, a simple traditional Thai blessing ceremony for the wedding was also arranged at the airport.

The newlyweds plan to go on a two-and-a-half-week camping trip in Chiang Mai and Surat Thani for their honeymoon at the end of the jamboree.

Jamboree camp chief Yuwarat Kamolvej said a Thai couple also planned to have a wedding ceremony on the campsite on January 6.