- Chiro
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This page is about the Flemish youth organisation; for the Ethiopian district, see Chiro (woreda); for the TV series character see Chiro (fictional character).
Chiro Established: 1934 [1] Founder: Jos Cleymans [2] [3] Website: [1] Chiro is a Flemish youth organisation, founded on Christian values, now only tenuously held, with 94,311 members[4] . While mainly focusing on having fun, it also aims at developing youngsters' responsibility and skills.
The name Chiro is a combination of the Greek letters chi (χ) and rho (ρ), which are the first letters of Christos, the Greek form of Christ. It was introduced by Jos Cleymans in an issue of Het Katholiek Patronaat, describing the youth of Chiro (Chirojeugd). At first, it was only about a new way to entertain children on sunday, while also teaching Catholic values. In 1941 Jos and some of his fellow priests founded the actual organization.
The members are divided into several sections according to their age. This division is not strict and not always applied in every individual group.
- Ribbels: 6–8 years old (not in every Chiro group)
- Speelclub: 8–10 years old, if there are ribbels, else 6–9 years old
- Rakwi: 10–12 years old, if there are ribbels, else 9–12 years old (rakkers (boys) & kwiks (girls))
- Tito: 12–14 years old (tippers (girls) & toppers (boys))
- Keti: 14–16 years old (kerels (boys) & tiptiens (girls))
- Aspi(rant): 16–18 years old
Contents
Famous Chiro members
- Bert Anciaux (Flemish politician)
- Rutger Beke (triathlete)
- Jean-Luc Dehaene (politician, he later transferred to scouts)
- Stijn Devolder (cyclist)
- Luc De Vos (Flemish singer Gorki)
- Piet Goddaer (singer: Ozark Henry)
- Marc Herremans (triathlete)
- Leif Hoste (cyclist)
- Herman Schueremans (CEO Rock Werchter)
- Thor Salden (Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006)
- Oliver (Eurosong for Kids 2008)
- Peter Van de Veire (radio presenter)
- Stan Van Samang (actor, singer)
- Johan Verminnen (singer)
- Inge Vervotte (politician)
- Kris Peeters (politician)
For a more elaborated list, please refer to the Chiro website[5] .
Chiro Organizations worldwide
Belgian Missionaries brought the ideas of Chiro into third-world countries. Today there are Chiro organizations in the Philippines (since 1952)[6], Burundi, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, D. R. Congo (as "Kiro")[7] and Haiti (as "Mouvement Kiro D'Haiti", since 1960)[8].
All these organizations – including the original Chirojeugd Vlaanderen – are member organizations of Fimcap, which is an Umbrella organization of catholic youth organizations.
External links
- http://www.chiro.be (Dutch)
References
- ^ "Het ontstaan van de Chiro". Chiro website. http://www.chiro.be/wat-is-chiro/geschiedenis/verhaal-van-nationaal/ontstaan.
- ^ "Het ontstaan van de Chiro". Chiro website. http://www.chiro.be/wat-is-chiro/geschiedenis/verhaal-van-nationaal/ontstaan.
- ^ "Jos Cleymans". Chiro Wiki. http://wiki.chiro.be/index.php/Jos_Cleymans.
- ^ "Cijfergegevens". Chiro website. http://www.chiro.be/cijfergegevens.
- ^ "Bekende Chiro-Vlamingen". Chiro website. http://www.chiro.be/wat-is-chiro/geschiedenis/chiro-erfgoed/bekende-chirovlamingen.
- ^ "History of Chiro in the Philippines". Chiro.ph website. http://info.chiro.ph/history.
- ^ "Africa". FIMCAP website. http://www.fimcap.org/index.php?id=87&L=0.
- ^ "MOUVEMENT KIRO D'HAITI". website of Mouvement Kiro D'Haiti. http://www.mouvementkirohaiti1960.blogspot.com/.
Categories:- Youth organisations based in Belgium
- Belgium stubs
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