Scouting in the former Rhodesia and Nyasaland started in 1909 during the British colonial era, when the first Boy Scout troop was registered. Scouting grew quickly and in 1924 Rhodesia and Nyasaland sent a large contingent to the second World Scout Jamboree in Ermelunden, Denmark.
The great popularity of the Boy Scout movement was due to its outdoor program such as hiking, camping, cooking and pioneering, which was unusual in the protectorate. Additionally, the training and progressive badge system was targeted towards helping others, leading to responsible citizenship.
Because of the prevailing circumstances earlier in the 20th century, a separate movement was established for black Africans called "Pathfinders". By the 1950s the time was considered to merge both movements into one Scout Association. Since independence, as a Commonwealth member, Scouting in Malawi continued under The Scout Association, though it had the option to register directly with the World Scout Bureau. Scouting was banned during the reign of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda since the 1970s, despite the country's longstanding relationship with British Scouting, replaced by a youth movement called Malawi Youth Pioneers. Scouting was re-introduced in 2001, after Malawi moved from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy in 1994.
The Malawi Scout Association was officially relaunched in 2001 although it had been running for several years prior to this. The Scout Association of Malawi are now a member of the World Association of the Scout Movement (WOSM). Scouting is very much based on the African model of community involvement. AIDS and general health awareness, the rights of women in society, especially young women, education for all children and literacy are some of the typical activities that scouts engage in as well as more typical scouting activities such as hiking, camping etc.. At the moment (2010) scouting is often started as a school club activity and many of the leaders are teachers. According to the Executive Director, Steve Kanene, the membership was ca. 12000 in 2009
SAM relies on international support which it has received from the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and Korea.
If the door is open please feel free to call in and introduce yourself.
Make sure you put the cache back exactly as you found it (think about it when you take it down!!).
This area of Lilongwe is concidered a safe area but be aware of general safety issues when walking around Lilongwe. Read your guide book or ask for local advice
