A Bharat scout at the Southern Region Mini Jamboree held in Hyderabad in 2006. (File picture)

Kurseong, July 9: For the first time, six students from the hills will participate in an international jamboree for scouts and guides in London this month.

All the six scouts are students of St Joseph’s School in Darjeeling. Jogendra Prasad, the state assistant commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides, said: “It’s an opportunity that we had been looking forward to for our children for a long time. The international jamboree is a gathering of scouts and guides in one place and these children will get maximum exposure at the global level,” Prasad said here today.

Ronak Pradhan, Karan Gurung, Kayalzang Tshering Tashi and Ayush Jha (from Class X), Prabal Mani Pradhan of Class IX and Beepashan Pradhan from Class VII — all aged between 14 and 17 years — will fly out on July 24, said Suraj Tamang, the district secretary of the Bharat Scouts and Guides Association.

Tamang, who will escort the boys to London, told The Telegraph over phone from Darjeeling that “the students are enthusiastic about the 21st World Scout Jamboree to be held from July 27 to August 8 at Hylands Park in London”.

During the two-week long jamboree, the boys will exhibit their talents with arts and crafts. They will also be made aware about global developments and health related issues like HIV, adolescence and leprosy. Some of the awareness programmes will be conducted through games. There will also be science-related activities.

Prasad said the students themselves are paying for the trip. “Each student has a budget of Rs 50,000 which includes travelling and pocket money. The host organisation — Scout Association of the United Kingdom — will provide food to the participants who will stay in tents,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for the six boys to interact with their counterparts from other countries. They will definitely learn good things from the trip.”

The jamboree, with the theme “one world, one promise”, is being held on the centennial year of the founding of the scouting movement. It will bring together 40,000 scouts, venturers, leaders and staff members.