Vanessa Abad brought this scout belt to one of the workshops. Engraved in the leather of the belt was something special.

“In the 1980s I was in a scouting group called Trekvogels (Migrating Birds). We would gather every Saturday in Emmastad. This is where I learned various skills, but also the morals and values that I still apply to this day. This scouting belt belonged to my great aunt called Esther Alburg-Baal. She was born on April 1st 1900 in Paramaribo, Surinam. When her husband Marius Alburg got a job at Royal Shell they moved to Curaçao. I call her aunt Stel. She was very social and from what I heard also active in the Suffisant neighborhood. She was the leader of a scouting group that was unknown to me.”

“When aunt Stel heard that I had also found the scouting-path she went looking for her belt. And she gave it to me! What makes the belt even more special for me is the fact that her address has been engraved in the belt. Years after receiving the belt we bought the house of aunt Stel which means that my address is now also engraved in the belt.”

Scouting was initially part of the colonial efforts of the Netherlands to “educate” Curaçaoans according to European norms and values. For a long time, scouting was led by Dutch missionaries. In the course of time, Curaçaoans took over more and more work and scouting changed its character.