By Steven Enatu
SOROTI CITY
Hundreds of scouts’ members have turned up in Soroti city to celebrate the national founder day for scouts in Uganda today.
The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement.
Baden-Powell was born on February 22, 1857, and he established the first Scout troop in England in 1907. But for Uganda it was pushed to today the 25th Feb 2023 under the theme “Copying up with covid19 impacts”
He created the Scouting movement with the aim of helping young people develop physical, mental, and spiritual skills, and to prepare them to become responsible and productive citizens.
The national founder day for scouts is an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Baden-Powell and the Scouting movement.
Patrick Icumar, the Teso regional scouts coordinator who also doubles as the chairperson organizing committee for the event said they began the celebration with a five day activities that began on Monday with a keep Soroti clean campaign. In this, Schools participated in the one day activity cleaning the City.
On day two, the scout members had an Impactful walk, showing the community the relevance of scouts and supporting the community. Day three which was Wednesday, the team moved around cleaning water bodies.
On Thursday, moved around the city to sensitize the community on road safety days- educating people on road signs. He said this was aimed at creating awareness on proper road use.
According to statistics from the Uganda Police Force, an average of 10 people die each day due to road accidents, making it one of the highest rates of road fatalities in Africa.
The main causes of road accidents in Uganda include reckless driving, speeding, overloading, drunk driving, and poor road conditions.
Today being the D-day, the members are expected to reflect on their own progress and achievements, and to recommit themselves to the principles of the Scout Law and Scout Oath.
Among the dignitaries present include the chief scouts Al haji. Prof Emeritus Badru Dungu Kateregga who was the former ambassador of Uganda to Saudi Arabia.
Guest of honor is expected to be Hon Musa Francis Ecweru, the state minister for Transport who will be representing the Vice President Her Excellency Major retired Jesica Alupo.
Schools across Teso have sent their representatives and Kampala University scouts members have also been seen donning their scout attires earlier around in a procession to sports grounds where the celebration is taking place.
