How to join

The steps, one by one

From “I’m thinking about it” to the neckerchief.

1. You come on a Saturday You turn up at Centrul Don Orione and say you would like to see what it is like. No need to tell anyone in advance if you would rather not. Come in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.
2. You talk to a leader Someone from Co.Ca. (the leaders’ community) sits down with you and your parents for ten minutes: how old you are, which branch suits you, what happens next. That is when you ask your questions too.
3. You stay a few weeks Nobody signs anything on the first day. You come a few times, you get to know the children, you see what an activity looks like in the rain, not only in the sun.
4. You join a patrol (or a pack) From here on you have a group of your own, a patrol leader and a particular place that is yours. The forms and the parents’ consent are filled in then.
5. Your first outing and your first camp A whole day outdoors, and then, when its time comes, camp. This is where the real friendships are made.
6. The Promise When you are ready — and you decide that, not the calendar — you make your Promise in front of the whole community and receive your neckerchief.

Where and when

Only one thing to remember: Saturday afternoon.

What parents ask

The questions below come up with almost every new family. That is only natural.

What does it cost?

The Saturday meetings are free. What costs money are the things that need real money: the uniform, the camps (food, transport, accommodation where there is any) and, sometimes, materials. The amounts are kept small on purpose, and no child stays at home because of money — say so to a leader, in private, and it is sorted out quietly.

Axes, knives, fires — isn’t it dangerous?

It is, if you hand them to a child who has not been taught. That is why they are not handed over like that. Tools are learned in stages, by age: first you watch them, then you carry them, then you use them under supervision, then on your own. The axe has fixed rules (the safety zone, the sheath, where the hands go) that every scout knows before touching one. A child who chops wood at thirteen under supervision is safer than someone who first picks up an axe on their own at twenty.

Do we have to be Catholic?

No. We are a Catholic community, hosted by Centrul Don Orione, and faith is openly part of what we do — morning prayer, Mass at camp. But the Law says “a friend to all”, and children from other denominations, or from families who do not go to church, are welcomed exactly like everyone else. We ask for respect for the moments of prayer, not for taking part in them.

Boys and girls together?

Yes. Our community is mixed, as it has been from the start — Cub Scouts (Lupișori for the boys, Mămăruțe for the girls), boy scouts and girl scouts.

My child is shy and doesn’t know anyone.

That is, in fact, the best reason to come. A patrol has five to eight children, not thirty, it is led by a teenager, not by a teacher, and everyone has a particular role, with a name to it. It is much easier to join a small group where you have a clear job than a class where you have to make yourself noticed.

How much time does it take, realistically?

Three hours on Saturday, a day outing now and then, and camp. For the older ones — the Novitiate, the Clan-Foc — add the time spent preparing activities for the younger children, because at some point you cross over to the other side.

And if my child doesn’t like it?

Then they stop coming. It really is that simple. There is no leaving fee and no pressure; some children try it, stay two months and work out that it is not for them. That is a perfectly acceptable outcome of having tried.

If you are past eighteen

You can come in on the other side as well.

The community constantly needs adults who can give a few hours a week: unit leaders, people who are good at a craft, parents who help with the logistics of camp, former scouts who have come back to the city. You do not have to have been a scout to start — but you do have to be willing to learn the method, because the method is what we do.

The leaders’ community is called Co.Ca. It prepares the activities, is responsible for safety, and has kept the group on its feet for thirty years now.

Until Saturday, play a day of camp

The best way to get an idea of it, from home.

The game on this site is one of our camp days in miniature, built on the same rules: you pitch the camp from nothing, gather wood and stone, cook, build with poles and rope, work through knots, orienteering and first aid, clear up after yourself, carry the good turn through to the end and light the evening fire.