Palokan Partiolaiset (PaPa, in short) is a local scout group for Palokka region. Naturally we’re open for people regardless of their home address.
Palokan Partiolaiset was founded October 14th, 1974. We were among the first scout groups to benefit from the merger of the Girl Guide Association in Finland and the Boy Scout Association in Finland, which made it possible to have both Guides and Scouts working in mixed gender groups. In fact, since the merger in 1972, us Finns have it hard to use separate terms for Guides and Scouts. Hence we tend to talk only about Scouting and Scouts.
We have a cooperation agreement with the Jyväskylä parish (Evangelican Lutheran Church of Finland). Nevertheless we, as a memeber of the Finnish Scout organization, are a nonpolitical, nonsectarian and multilingual organization. Our religious neutrality is reflected in the Finnish Scout promise, which begins ”I promise to love my God…”
At the moment we are about 150 strong group and expecting to have many new members this fall.
We hold our weekly meetings in the former vicarage of Palokka. We call the house PaPala.
As every scout group in Finland is bound to Finnish scout program, every group can also emphasize issues they hold important. In Palokka our emphasis is on living in and with nature. Not to be a survivalist, but to enhance self-confidence, team work abilities and to respect and protect the environment we live in. Another important objective is to learn social abilities and to be an active citizens with respect for other countries and cultures.
