Scout highlights Messengers of Peace work to the Dalai Lama
For Amar Chettri, a lifelong Scout and National Coordinator of the Bharat Scouts and Guides Messengers of Peace initiative, meeting His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and sharing the impact of Scouting’s peace-building efforts was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The meeting was possible alongside the National Rover Ranger Carnival, which recently took place in Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, a state in the northern part of India where the Dalai Lama has lived since 1959.
On behalf of Scouting across India and worldwide, Amar presented the Dalai Lama with a blue Messengers of Peace scarf. This scarf is often symbolically bestowed to a Scout, volunteer or professional Scout who has shown significant commitment and outstanding service towards building peace - an honour befitting His Holiness who has been a champion and advocate for global peace, compassion and dialogue throughout his extraordinary life.
It was an incredible moment to meet, greet, and seek blessings for Scouting from His Holiness, I gave a Scout salute to the Dalai Lama, and he responded smilingly and said ‘, welcome Scout’. I introduced myself, saying, ‘I am a Scout, Messenger of Peace and would like to present you with this Messengers of Peace scarf.” Amar Chettri
The Dalai Lama accepted the offering with delight, and Amar talked about the contributions and actions of Scouts all over India and millions of communities worldwide to create lasting peace and dialogue. The Dalai Lama listened intently and expressed his deep appreciation to Scouts for all that they do to make the world a better place.
Over the past decade, through the Messengers of Peace initiative, Scouts have delivered more than 16 million local projects and actions to promote peace; supporting communities impacted by natural disasters in Haiti, leading peace-building efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, facilitating interfaith dialogues in Indonesia, standing up for gender equality in Saudi Arabia, and working to make refugees feel welcome in Turkey.
The Messengers of Peace initiative has also supported capacity strengthening efforts throughout Scouting’s local, national and international levels, ensuring world-class support is available to over 10 million local Scout Leaders delivering Scouting programmes.
The 350 Scouts who participated in the National Rover Ranger Carnival were inspired by the Dalai Lama and the visit left Amar feeling both honoured and hopeful that young people can continue to undertake even more innovative actions to promote peace and sustainability for the future of our planet.
Did this story inspire you? Find out how you can support Messengers of Peace through a donation to the World Scout Foundation and leave a lasting mark through global peace-building activities.
The content creation of this article was made possible with thanks to the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).
Photo Credits: WOSM, Bharat Scouts and Guides