A Muslim Scout group has had its old, run-down hut transformed into a fantastic new headquarters – all thanks to the Evening Post. The 1st Bristol Muslim Scout Group, based in Muller Road, won third place in the Evening Post's Building Healthy Communities competition.

The prize was £1,000 of work from construction firm Leadbitter.

The group was formed in 2003 to give boys and girls from all faiths the chance to enjoy adventure and fun activities.

Youngsters learn everything from camping skills and creative crafts to canoeing and leadership skills.
But its Scout hut was little more than a concrete hall, with leaking sinks and toilets that needed updating.

The group, which has more than 50 youngsters from six to 14 split between its Beaver, Cub and Scout packs, also wanted showers so that its members could get washed and changed when they had sleep-overs.

Now, with the help of Leadbitter, their hall has been revamped.

The transformed hut means they can spend more time on their activities and games, rather than worrying about how they are going to clean up after their fun.

Amir Cheema, the Scout leader who founded the group, said the work had made a huge difference to the youngsters.

Mr Cheema, 42, a senior project manager for Orange, from Westbury-on-Trym, said: "The work is really nice. It has been done fantastically, and now we have hot showers.

"The next step is for us to complete the rest of the refurbishment, and make sure we have got hot water and better toilets.

"We will fundraise for that, but this is an excellent step towards it.

"Our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts can now do outdoor activities, camping and sleep-overs and have hot showers and get cleaned up.

"We haven't done anything yet as the work has only just been finished, but we will have our first stay-over some time in January. Being able to do this will help get the younger ones into camping mode in a nice, comfortable environment, either in tents in the building or outside when the weather is better.
"They are really excited and are looking forward to doing more fun activities in the Scout hall.

"The 1st Bristol Muslim Scout Group would really like to thank Leadbitter for doing a brilliant job.

"The commitment was £1,000 but they went above and beyond that.

"We would also like to thank the parents and supporters who collected all the tokens to help us win this work."

Rob Bradley, regional director of Leadbitter, said: "What a transformation. It is great to see the Scouts so happy with their new showers. The facilities they had were very basic. They had some really grotty toilets and no showers.

"We have installed two showers, one in the girls' toilets and one in the boys', and now the children can enjoy a full range of physical activities with the luxury of being able to shower afterwards.
"We spent a bit more than we should have done, but we couldn't really do just a half-job.

"When we had finished the work they presented me with a Bristol Blue glass paperweight to say thank you for the work, which we were delighted to receive.

"It's very satisfying to see their huge efforts in collecting so many tokens has resulted in our work benefiting so many young people."

Evening Post assistant editor Richard Coulter said: "It is clear that the 1st Bristol Muslim Scout Group provides fantastic activities for the youngsters.

"But groups such as theirs do not have huge amounts of money and when a big project needs doing, it can be a problem.

"With the help of Leadbitter, however, and following the Scouts' tremendous efforts in collecting tokens in our competitions, they will now have facilities to help them carry on their fantastic work."
The 37th Kingswood Scouts won the Building Healthy Communities competition in July. Shirehampton Colts Football Club came second.