Adapted from the 80th Salgirah Scouts Magazine. Originally written by Shabbir Z. Pirbhai.
Throughout the history of mankind, the world has gone through a metamorphosis of various stages and as such, Man's desire to achieve his goals through whichever means has tended him to be self-centered. As Man advanced both materially and scientifically, the complete disregard for welfare of the less fortunate increased.
It is at this juncture that the need arose to provide humanitarian services to the disabled and the destitute, in particular, and the Society in general. Therefore, a group of young men under the noble leadership of Late Lord Robert Smith Stephenson Baden Powell started a voluntary organisation which later became known as the World-wide Brotherhood Movement of Scouting.
It is this movement that 21 young boys sponsored by our Community joined in 1931 and hence the advent of the first Saifee Boy Scout Troop under the rank of 3rd Mombasa. The troop was initially started by Mulla Mohammedali R. Hassanali and was formally registered in 1933.
In 5 years' time the troop grew in strength and number. By this time, due to the large number of boys, Patrols had been formed with each Patrol having a Patrol leader. Scouting had now gained momentum in the community and therefore the need arose to form another Section for young children aged between 7-12 years. Thus the Cub section came into being. Mulla Nazerali Karimjee took charge as its Cubleader.
The Second World War created opportunities for our Scouts to acquire valuable knowledge in basic skills such as First Aid and Life Saving. On the other hand Scouts true to their motto "Be Prepared" responded to the call for their useful services by rendering these in the event of an emergency. The training acquired increased the Scouts appetite to enhance their Scouting knowledge and activities.
Since the group was expanding fast, so did the administration work increase to overlook the affairs of the Group. As such around 1940 the Group appointed its first Patron, Sheikh Ebrahimbhai Tajbhai. A very wise and respected person, he held this position for about 18 years and Scouts gained a lot of recognition during his time. However his sudden and sad demise in Kampala was a great loss to our Group.
Thereafter the Group appointed Sheikh Saifuddin Arsiwalla as the new Patron. A veteran scout from the clove island of Zanzibar, Sheikh Saifuddin, through his exemplary guidance and diplomatic counselling, has enabled the Group to progress remarkably. His generous contributions both financially and otherwise have helped Scouts a great deal.
Today, the Saifee Scouts Group boasts about 120 active members and a highly experienced and qualified team of 13 Group Council members ably led by Mulla Abdulla E. Shakir, the current Group Scoutleader.
May we at this point take the opportunity to convey our warm wishes to all the past Scouts and Leaders who have dedicatedly rendered their services in making what the Group is today. Our deepest respects to those Scouts and Leaders who have passed away, yet have left behind a legacy of humanitarian fundamentals which generations of Scouts have followed and will continue to follow.
For further information on the Scouting Movement, visit the World Organization of the Scouting Movement home page.