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The Organisation
In London there was one Agoonoree
covering the whole region until the mid 1960s, then the camp become
two, with one Agoonoree Camp for the Central and Southern Counties and
another for the Northern Counties. In 1995 the situation changed again
and with the division along different lines - one camp for Scoutlink
Clubs and the other for Scouts within regular troops who are unable to
camp with their troop by reason of their special need. More recently
still the camp has returned to being London wide and is now a joint
venture organised by the former Scoutlink/Special Needs Groups in
London.
The camps are held at a different location each
year and move around the country as much as possible, for example, the
South London Camp (now the Scoutlink Camp) has in the past three years
been to such places as Suffolk, Rugby and Leicester. The locations are
usually schools that can offer such vital facilities as dormitories,
for those who are unable for medical reasons to sleep under canvas, and
showers or baths for those that need frequent washing. Campers are
encouraged to sleep under canvas if at all possible (using camp beds or
inflatable mattresses if required), where this is not an option, the
indoor facilities are used. A combination of sleeping arrangements
(tent one day and dormitory the next, for instance) is also possible.
In as many ways as possible the camp is modelled on traditional Scout
lines with the camp being divided into patrols, each staffed by a
Patrol Leader, Patrol Second and a number of Scouts; all working in
conjunction with about six scouts with special needs. The Patrol staff
are responsible for the care of their Patrol members throughout the
week. The camp is also supported by a service crew which includes
general staff for duties such as cleaning and rubbish disposal, a nurse
for immediate medical needs including daily drug distribution and
entertainments staff to supervise the daily programme of events. The
patrol leaders and seconds are all adult Scout Leaders or older Venture
Scouts with several years of experience at the camp.
The programme would be familiar to any "Scouting person" and usually
includes a hike, an outing, some training activities (backwoods
cooking, sailing etc.) and some camp fires. Other programme items which
are not to be missed include daily kit inspection and washing up! All
events are geared to ensure that maximum enjoyment and benefit is
obtained by each camper. In some instances a parallel programme is run
to enable all to have a fully active week.
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