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Scouting in Education Perspective
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in dire necessity of first aid, especially at places away from big towns and cities. There is hardly a field where scouting cannot render FIRST AID to the local community.
Let us start with simple and familiar fields which await first aid. With the installation of atomic, thermal, hydro-power and electric power plants in the country, almost every village, worth the name is electrified. Ignorance of fuse generally makes farmers and consumers dependent on the crafty electrician, who charges disproportionately to the service he renders. Besides, unnecessary expenses in the absence of the crafty electrician, water-lift pumps remain inactive, crops in the fields parch without water and cottage industry comes to a halt. Imagine, a community dinner for celebrating a winning in an election or the wedding of a son or a daughter. People are in hilarious mood, they are making the most of it. All of a sudden electricity goes out on account of the fuse. The whole atmosphere changes to annoyance and curses. People start running helter skelter in search of kerosene lamps. Some go out in search of an electrician. If a boy scout happens to be there, he will retrieve the situation by resorting to a simple mechanism of transfering excess load of electricity to other circuits and fixing a fuse wire in fuse box. Motor starts lifting water and crops are watered with steady flow of water; community dinner venue is lit and gaity returns. He can render first aid in minor repairs of faulty plug and plug pins in lamps cord. He may fix elements in electric presses, heaters etc.
Household gadgets like sewing machines, wick or gas stoves etc. get out of order accidentally. Their running repairs are very simple. If a boy scout learns about minor faults of these household gadgets, he will be a great help to the women who handle these gadgets. He will repair them in a jiffy and earn their gratitude. Another area that awaits first aid is plumbing. Almost all big villages and small towns have their own water supply system. Dripping taps, leaking pipes or choked drains are headaches to the people, especially where plumbers are hard to find. They not only stain washbasins and floors but also start stinking in the absence of simple knowledge of detecting the fault in the washers, loose fixing of pipes etc. A scout is of help in relieving the suffering of the troubled. Hand-water lifi-pumps for drawing water are used where water supply system is not available. They generally get out of order on account of constant use. In the absence of readily available mechanical help it remains out of order for a petty long time even for minor repairs. It causes inconvenience to the users. A scout can set them in order. Bicycle is a cheap and trusted vehicle of the common man. It is within his means. Its mechanism is very simple. Boy Scouts can very well pick up running repairs of leakage of valves, loosening of breaks, fixing a puncture or a faulty chain etc. He can be a handy help on the road for novices.
Mechanical implements, automobiles and mopeds are in general use in urban as well as rural areas. A tractor plying between a town and a village is common sight. These mechanical vehicles and implements are prone to go out of order and stop working in the case of even a minor fault like carbon deposit on plugs or a layer of dust on air filter. Generally users feel helpless and are seen dragging their vehicles to a mechanic's shop. One can realise the condition of the user at this juncture. He perspires profusely with the energy he exerts in dragging it and the great mental agony with which he suffers at his helpnessness at not locating the fault even though the fault happens to be minor one. The Boy Scout's first aid in locating the fault and removing it, if it happens to be a minor one, will be a relief to the user. The Boy Scout can be of use to the rider especially in replacing broken clutch or gear wire, fixing wheels in case they go deflated etc. Only a few of the areas in which a man needs help have been pointed out
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