History - BOSCOREE - a quadrennial mammoth gathering of Scouts and Guides

History of Don Bosco Scouts and Guides and BOSCOREE

The first-ever Don Bosco Scout Troop was started by the Salesian Priests in 1944, as part of Don Bosco Oratory and Youth Centre, Broadway, Chennai. Six years later, in 1950, the Irish missionary Fr Sean McFerran, who was popularly known as “the Sporting Padre”, opened another Scout Unit at Don Bosco School, Matunga, Mumbai. Gradually, numerous Don Bosco Scout troops sprang up as part of Don Bosco Schools across the country. Soon enough the schools run by Auxilium Sisters, part of the Don Bosco Family, with their girl guides too joined the bandwagon, infusing more life, energy and spirit to the initiative. Within a few years, the new initiative evolved into what came to be known as the Don Bosco Scouts and Guides Movement. In 1966, a gathering of the Don Bosco Scouts and Guides was organised at Kovalam on the shore of the Arabian Sea.

The history of the Boscoree goes back to 1974 when the Salesians of Don Bosco conducted an all India programme for the Scouts and Guides of their schools. It was here in 1976, the second national gathering of Don Bosco Scouts troops at Don Bosco Matunga that the gathering was called BOSCOREE for the first time. BOSCOREE is a hybrid term between BOSCO and JAMBOREE (a word used by Lord Baden Powel) coined to mean that we are all here united under the BOSCO scouting banner. Each BOSCOREE has its special theme and logo. At the end of the camp it was the unanimous opinion from the Salesians attending the gathering that the provinces take up the organization of the Boscoree.

Origin and Significant Moments of National Boscoree in India
No	Year	Place	Organizers	Theme	Number
1	1974	Doddaballapur, Karnataka	Few clerics from KJC, Bangalore	To Love	200
2	1976	Mumbai, Maharashtra	The Scout troop in Matunga	To Share	400
3	1979	Shillong, Meghalaya	Province of Guwahati	To Serve	800
4	1988	Doddaballapur, Karnataka	Province of Bangalore	To Renew	600
5	1991	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Province of Madras	National Integration Unite and Serve	688
6	1994	Liluah, Calcutta, West Bengal	Province of Calcutta	Care and Share	1000
7	1997	Sulcorna, Goa	Province of Mumbai	Scouting for Freedom	2000
8	2000	Shillong, Meghalaya	Province of Guwahati	Learning to Love and Work Togther	3000
9	2003	Mannuthi, Kerala	Province of Bangalore	Together with a vision towards transformation	3500
10	2006	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Province of Madras	Harmony with Creator and Creation	3500
11	2010	Dimapur, Nagaland	Province of Dimapur	Peace on Earth	1800
12	2014	Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu	Province of Tiruchy	Heal the World	4000
13	2018	Nashik, Maharahtra	Province of Mumbai	Health-Harmony-Holiness	4564

Purpose

Scouting develops in the young self-knowledge, the need to explore and to discover the world beyond their classrooms. This is what Don Bosco Scouts and Guides Movement tries to reinforce at every BOSCOREE.

BOSCOREE is intrinsically linked with the worldwide scout movement founded by Lord Baden Powell in 1907. Scouting instills confidence and self-esteem in young people by teaching them life skills and leadership skills.

Each scout learns through various activities the art of team-building, how to make right choices and to take responsibility for their actions.