Over the course of the past few months, the Aga Khan Scouts held several exciting and educational activities for social, physical and spiritual development. These activities included climbing Mount Uluguru in Morogoro, planting seeds for Kilimanjaro Region, cleaning the local cemetery, and gathering for Iftar. Highlights from each event are below:
Mountain Climbing on 31th March to 1st April 2018
Mount Uluguru in Morogoro is a second home to the Tanzanian Scouts and Guides due to Bahati Camp being the National Training Centre. The hike to the top was planned by the Scouts leadership team to encourage physical activities in a technological world and create team building spirit. Cubs, brownies, scouts, guides, parents, inactive members and leadership all participated in this activity.
After months of planning, the team departed early in the morning from Upanga Jamatkhana to reach Morogoro Jamatkhana at 8:30 a.m for breakfast. Soon after, the entire team traveled to the base of the mountain and started phase 1 of the climb to Bahati Camp. Despite challenging and slippery terrains due to rain, the team forward to started the phase 2 to 3 rocks base where lunch was served and the scouts took a moment to relax.
Some of the best parts along the way was crossing the small villages, drinking fresh water from the flowing river, and seeing strawberry farms. The team made their way to the top as the sun set towards the horizon, which gave way to stunning views of Morogoro City. Soon after, camps were set up just before darkness and dinner was served while overlooking the City’s twinkling lights.
The following morning, breakfast was prepared for the entire team and everyone was all set to start the hike back down. Due to the pouring rain overnight, the tracks were too slippery and broken, but with the assistance of cub leaders who guided everyone on the easiest and safest way back. After a long hike of four hours, the team reached Morogoro Jamatkhana and returned to Dar with lots of memories!
Service Day (“Tuje Pamoja”) on 12th May 2018
April marked the official launch of an annual tree planting event between The Kilimanjaro Project and Trees4Kili – an organization who’s goal is to plant one million trees in 2018 in the Kilimanjaro Region and 50 Million trees within the next 10 years. This is because every year, millions of trees are cut down in the Kilimanjaro Region for firewood, charcoal making and land usage for agriculture, which has effected the climate.
To help make a difference, a service day was organized with guest speaker — Sarah Scott — Founder of The Kilimanjaro Project. Sarah explained to the kids and parents all about the project and its importance through a presentation and activities. She also mentioned that experts believe that they can help reverse the effects of climate change and weather patterns on the mountain and revive the once plentiful rainfall by planting millions of trees.
The cubs and brownies took part in a seeding activity, and the team collectively managed pledging almost 400 trees and still counting as its will be a yearlong project.
Service Day (Cemetery Cleaning) on 13th May 2018
For many youth, the cemetery is a traditional taboo for many kids. However, with the purpose of creating a sense of responsibility towards community places, the Aga Khan Scouts leadership team planned a service day to clean the local cemetery.
The cubs were divided into four teams who were designated to clean specific areas. The event ended by reciting Surah Fatiha before departing the cemetery.
Iftar Gathering on 9th June 2018
Iftar (or “Fatoor”) is known as the evening meal with which Muslims send their daily fast at sunset during Ramadan. Taking the opportunity of this Holy Month, this year the leadership decided to arrange a short Iftar gathering for all the cubs, brownies, scouts and guides. Everyone enjoyed their Iftar meals which provided the participants an understanding of one of the five pillars of Islam.