Scouting in Puerto Rico was introduced in the 1920s, and has been serving both boys and girls in the island since then. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), serves both boys and girls in different programs, while the Girl Scouts of the USA serves only girls in various levels.
The Puerto Rico Council (Spanish: Concilio de Puerto Rico) was founded in 1927[1] as the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Council, part of the Northeast Region of the Boy Scouts of America. The Virgin Islands District was separated into a new Virgin Islands Council in 1965.[2] Thousands of youth and volunteers participate in four programs, Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouting, with the mission of preparing youth to make correct choices ethically and morally for their future by learning the Scout Law and Scout Promise. According to a statistics report by Scouting Magazine, Puerto Rico had 189 Scouts reach Eagle Scouts in 2016 and 128 in 2017.[3]
Puerto Rico is one of the few councils of the Boy Scouts of America organization that uses Spanish as its main language for all programs, including the Scout Promise and Law.
English: On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Spanish: Por mi honor, prometo hacer todo lo posible, para cumplir con mis deberes para con Dios y mi patria, obedecer la Ley del escucha, ayudar a mis semejantes en toda ocasión, mantenerme físicamente fuerte, mentalmente alerta y moralmente recto.
Guajataka Scout ReservationorCamp Guajataka, often simply referred to as Guajataka and nicknamed Santuario de Amistad (English: Sanctuary of Friendship), is the Puerto Rico Council's only scout camp reservation.[5] The camp is located at the northwest part of the island in San Sebastián and partially borders the southern portion of Guajataca Lake, from which the camp takes part of its name.[6][7][8]
Girl Scouting in Puerto Rico is administered by the Caribe Girl Scout Council of the Girl Scouts of the USA. It is headquartered in San Juan. The first troop was formed in 1926 in Cabo RojobyElisa Colberg.
The Council owns Camp Elisa Colberg, established in 1948,[10]inRio Grande, Camp María Emilia in Añasco and Camp Provi Biaggi in Ponce.[11]
The Spanish translation of Girl Scout is Niña Escucha but it is also widely understood and used in English in Puerto Rico.
The council's newsletter is called Niña Escucha.
Girl Scouts earn a uniquely designed badge created by the council called Los Faros de Puerto Rico (The Lighthouses of Puerto Rico).[citation needed]
In 2006, painter Moisés Fragela donated one of his paintings entitled Quedo en Nada (Left in Nothing) to the Caribe Council[12] which was sold in auction for funding part of the renovations and improvements towards the council's campsites.[12]
In 2017, shortly after Hurricane Maria, 2,000 new members joined the Caribe Council.[13]
^"...the Boy Scouts of America had just arranged to send Porto Rico its first Scout Executive, Mr. A. S. MacFarlane, recently of the Philippines (where he organized Scouting and placed it on a sound basis)...Boys' Life, Vol. XVIII, No. 11, Nov 1928.
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