In an emergency, can you do what it takes to help someone? Could you rescue them from a life-or-death situation? Perhaps you might think I am being a bit dramatic, but it's a serious question.
Are you prepared?
In July 1983, the 15th World Scouting Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies.
In December 1981, several members of our Venturer company were selected to attend the HikeMaster training camp in July 1982. If we passed the tests - physical and written, we would be part of a dedicated group that would be leading scouts from around the world on hikes and camps in the Rockies at the World Jamboree the next year. We were given plenty of warning so that we had time to prepare - and prepare we did.
At 15 and 16, we were becoming reasonably experienced campers, and we all attended a St John's first aid course. We also had to do a weekend "solo" hiking pre-camp (no adult leaders), to help prepare us for being self-reliant and leading groups of scouts - including their adult leaders.
Little did we know we would be testing our skills, teamwork and those First-Aid lessons in earnest in only a few short months - in a real life-or-death situation.
Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.
