Passionate volunteers: Scouts gather to celebrate 107 years of the movement

Awarded for services rendered during floods and militancy.

MINGORA: Hundreds of scouts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa gathered in Swat to celebrate the annual function of Swat Scouts Open Group (SSOG) at the auditorium of Khpal Kor Foundation in Mingora on Saturday.

“It has been 107 years since the scout movement was started by Baden-Powell in 1907 and today it is active in the whole world,” said Provincial Secretary of Boy Scouts Association, Isamuddin, who was the chief guest on the occasion. “I am proud of SSOG for its work during militancy and floods in Swat.”

He added education and unity are powerful tools required for the development of a nation and the scout movement endorses both.

“The core objective of scouting education is to make individuals realise their role in society,” said District Scout Commissioner Mohammad Uzair Ali, who was also present on the occasion.

At the event, overall activities of SSOG in the year 2013 were highlighted by the group’s leader, Akhtar Ali. Certificates were also awarded to the scouts for their services throughout 2013.

Akhtar said the scouts carried out plantation and cleanliness campaigns and were also part of services at hospitals. “We worked successfully with the district administration in their endeavours to eradicate dengue virus,” he said. “Our efforts were acknowledged and applauded by the administration.”

Earlier in his speech, founder of SSOG, Muhammad Ali, welcomed the guests and said the group would continue to render voluntary services for the people of Swat.

The ceremony was presided over by Deputy Provincial Secretary of Boy Scouts Association, Imtiaz Khan.

SSOG is a leading scout group with 19 gold medals to its name. It has played an active role during conflicts and natural calamities in Swat. They have also established an orphanage in the district where more than 300 children, most of them affected by war, receive free boarding, food and education.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.