At present, there is no known

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

program in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. It is only one of the four of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting. In the 1930s, André Lefèvre, chief of the Eclaireurs de France, set up a training camp for 60 Scoutmasters from all over

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. At the end of 1937, French Scouting sent Scoutmaster

Raymond Schlemmer Raymond Schlemmer was a seminal figure in the early history of Scouting in France, from 1922 to 1952. Career In late 1937, French Scouting sent Scoutmaster Schlemmer to the Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese areas of Indochina to oversee the s ...

to the

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

n, Laotian, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese areas of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

to oversee the setting up of the Fédération Indochinoise des Associations du Scoutisme (FIAS, Indochinese Federation of Scouting Associations) in all three regions. From 1939 through 1945, the political situation affected Scouting activities all across the country, as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

engendered a movement for an independent Laos. The French began to lose control and were finally overthrown by Japanese intervention. This ceased the French Scouts' activity in Laos, as well as all Scouting activities. In 1948, a new attempt was first organized in

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

high school with two French teachers, André-Louis Aufauvre and Guy Leherbier, and scouters to gather boys and young men for social and humanitarian works. During the war, they were sent to the front line, delivering food and medical supplies to the bases, then carrying the dead and the wounded back to the safety zones through the jungle of Laos. In the cities, they were assigned to help with refugees, direct traffics and more. They were a big part of labor during the famous Vientiane flood of 1966. The

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

troop was well organized by Mr. George Dulieu in 1952. Reestablished after having been closed by the Japanese, six Scout troops celebrated a rally outside of

in 1952. At the time, Lao Scouts leadership included Scout commissioner Captain Jean Deuve while members of parliament Pheng Phongsavan and Bong Souvannavong filled the positions of president and vice president. In

in early 1953, French Far East Ground Forces troops used local Scouts as auxiliaries in the first battle of Laos against communist forces. The Scouts prepared transport along the

Nam Ou The Nam Ou (Lao language, Laotian: ນ້ຳອູ , Literal translation, literally: "rice bowl river") is one of the most important rivers of Laos. It runs 448 km from Phongsaly Province to Luang Prabang Province. The river rises in Muang Ou ...

and Nam Suang rivers. Homegrown Scouting was once again active in Laos, as Scouts Lao ( Laotian: ສກຸດລາວ, pronounced ''skudlao'') between its incorporation in 1959, at which date it numbered 2,300 Scouts. In 1975, the organization was dismantled by the new communist government of

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao (), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and political organization, organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ultimately gained control over the entire country of ...

who took over the country. Laotian Scouting in exile existed at least into the early 1990s in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. A small remnant persists in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and San Pablo, alongside fellow Vietnamese Scouting in exile and Cambodian Scouting in exile groups. According to Eric Khoo Heng-Pheng of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

, "We hope to work on (Laos and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

) again... Laos is the closest, as we have got

in already... Just like

... we are working with them through

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

Scouting. We hope to enroll all the countries including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in ( the Asia-Pacific Scout Region)." As of 2016, a Girl Scout group has appeared in Vientiane at the Vientiane International School, and maintains a blog and Facebook presence. The

Scout Motto The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of t ...

is ''ຕຣຽມພຣ້ອມ'' (''Triam Phrom'' ), ''Prepared'' in Lao, and ''Sois Prêt'', ''Be Prepared'' in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

References

{{Authority control Youth organizations based in Laos

Disbanded Scouting organizations Youth organizations established in 1937 Youth organizations established in 1959 Organizations disestablished in 1975

See also

References