The « Extension Scouting » project aims at integrating vulnerable and marginalised people into Scouting and into society in general. It has been developed particularly for child soldiers and young people in re-education presumed guilty of genocide, for street children, for young girls (which are underrepresented in decision-making bodies), for prisoners (there are currently more than 70’000 inmates in the country and Scouting exists in all the country’s prisons), for the handicapped, for orphans in general and HIV/AIDS orphans in particular.

Scouts are identifying people who fall into the categories mentioned above. They are making contacts and encouraging them to integrate Scouting and organise support activities for them. Scouts are also making their communities aware of the difficulties faced by these people, so that they are better accepted and integrated

Thanks to this project, young Scouts will become more aware of the realities faced by some people and will be more open to interaction with them. Young people who live in situations of insecurity and social marginalisation will find a place to blossom in Scouting. Communities, following the example of the Scouts, will have to reconsider their perceptions of underprivileged groups. Young people participating in the project, and who are old enough, will be encouraged to go to school.

To make this project a reality, a national protocol for the supervision of young people in difficult situations is being put into place and the “extension Scouting” dimension will be integrated in the programme of the national Scout Association of Rwanda. At local level, the categories of people who should benefit from the project are being identified in order to integrate them into scout groups and units, as well as in the decision making bodies of the Scout association in Rwanda. Moreover, the young people will be able to learn a trade in the Scout Training Centres. The last aspect is the education of the community through awareness raising events.