Lord themselves, how to take responsibility, and so
Lord Robert Baden Powell is perhaps one of the most deserving people of the title humanitarian ever. He founded an organization that involves more than 25 million youths and adults in 161 countries (BSA). Five United States presidents have been a part of Baden Powell’s organization. Neil Armstrong, Bill Gates, Harrison Ford are just some of the men who went through this organization (BSA). Lord Robert Baden Powell was the founder of scouting for boys, or boy scouts.
Baden Powell was born in London in 1857, he was constantly outdoors scouting the woods.In 1876 he joined the 13th Hussars in India, which was a light Calvary unit. In the 1880s he displayed his scouting skills among the Zulu in South Africa and was transferred to the British secret service. In 1897 he took command of the 5th Dragoon Guards and a few years later he wrote a manual called Aids to Scouting. A colonel at the time, Baden Powell was responsible for organizing a force to assist another army. He was surrounded by a Boer army which outnumbered his force heavily.
His army withstood the siege for 217 days.What impressed Powell were not only the men who withstood the siege, but also the boys that carried messages for him. He became a national hero after returning from England, and he found that his manual had become a best seller. He rewrote the manual allowing children the ability to read it. Throughout his career, Powell noticed the younger soldiers lacked leadership or skills in the outdoors. He said, “…(T)hey had never been taught to be men, how to look after themselves, how to take responsibility, and so on.
(Clyburne). Boys had learned in school and little from life. From this point on, Baden Powell’s life changed from being a major- general to a humanitarian focused on educating boys in the outdoors and in life. In 1907 he held a camp on Brownsea Island for 22 boys. This is where boy scouts started.
Baden Powell taught the boys how to survive in the wilderness through his edited version of Aids to Scouting. Brownsea Island itself is 20 miles off the south coast England, so they were all cut off from society (Reynolds).From July 25Th to August 9th, the boys were taught how to scout including observation, tracking, and stalking (Jennings). Baden Powell taught them lifelong skills that no textbook could teach them.
Upon the conclusion of Brownsea island scouting became an instant hit. Boys started forming their own troops and patrols. Lord Kitchener said: “he could lay his hand on several competent divisional generals but could find no one who could carry on the invaluable work of the Boy Scouts. ” After the First World War ended, Baden Powell strived to maintain peace.He visited countries encouraging National scout organizations to unite the young people and educate them in hopes that the next generation would be more peaceful. He was made chief scout in 1920 and by 1922 there were more than a million scouts in 32 countries. He was appointed to the order of merit of the British honors system in 1937 and was awarded 28 decorations from foreign states (Biographybase).
In 1939 he moved to Kenya to recuperate from an illness and died two years later on January 8th, 1941. Baden Powell left an impact on the world in creating leaders and promoting peace.Before he died Baden Powell made this statement: “..
. I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too. I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life.
Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man. Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy.
Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one. But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. ‘Be Prepared’ in this way, to live happy and to die happy — stick to your Scout Promise always — even after you have ceased to be a boy — and God help you to do it. (Short) This reflects his passion for educating people in order to help them have a better life. He enjoyed what the world had to offer and wanted to give back.
His goal was to leave the world better than he found it and he succeeded. A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. These are the scout laws boy scouts are required to memorize.
Baden Powell’s program isn’t just about educating boys in the outdoors, but his program also makes humanitarians.Baden Powell made leaders and shared his knowledge with the world. His impact on society still goes on today.
His program has made even more humanitarians and provides an international outlook on the world. Works Cited Biographybase. “Lord Robert Baden Powell Biography. ” Biography Base Home. Biographybase, 2009. Web.
01 May 2011. . BSA. “Presidents of the United States and the Boy Scouts of America. ” Scouting. Scouting. org, 2011.
Web. 01 May 2011. . BSA. “The World Organization of the Scouting Movement. ” Scouting. Scouting.
org, 2011. Web. 01 May 2011.
Clyburne, Bryce D. “Baden-Powell and the Beginnings of the World Scout Movement. ” BSA. org. Melissa A. Clyburne, 9 May 2003.
Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Jennings. “Book Signed by Baden Powell from Brownsea Island in 1907. Information Wanted! ” PatchBlanket.
com. Patchblanket. com, 08 Aug. 2010. Web.
01 May 2011. . Reynolds, E. E. “USSSP – History: Brownsea Island.
” U. S. Scouting Service Project. US Scouting Service Project, 2011. Web. 01 May 2011.
. Short, Rob. “Baden Powell.
” Broussard. co. uk – Coming Soon (maybe). Boy Scouts of America, 2009. Web.
01 May 2011. .
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