JACOBS LEADERSHIP PROJECT ENTERS SECOND PHASE BY LAUNCHING IN RWANDA

The Jacobs Leadership project has now been launched in Rwanda Scout Association. The project was received with enthusiasm and gratitude by the leadership of the Association. At the launch, the Association’s President, Dr Emmanuel Gasakure, who is also a member of the Africa Scout Committee, said that the project was very timely for Rwanda, as the association was now embarking on the implementation of their three-year national development plan. The project will help to scale up the leadership and management skills for the youth and their leaders in the Association. The Chief Commissioner, Sylvain Rurangwa expressed optimism that the Project would take the Association to greater heights in terms of skills acquisition, growth and image building. He noted that positive image for the association, is especially crucial at this point in time, as the Association is preparing to host the 13th Africa Scout Conference in 2007. The Project will last for 18 months and targets to raise the membership of the association by more than 25 percent. Present at the planning workshop and the launch ceremony was the Regional Director for the World Scout Bureau, Africa Region, Kinuthia Murugu, together with other staff from the Regional Office. Later, the Regional Director, and the top leaders of the Rwanda Scout association called on the Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports who expressed the government’s appreciation to the World Organisation of the Scout Movement, and the Jacobs Foundation, for having identified Rwanda as one of the pioneer beneficiaries of the Leadership Project. He urged the Association to deliver on their promise in the Project.

The Project is set to be rolled out in Seychelles Scout Association at the end of February, and shortly thereafter, to Angola Scout Association. The first six countries in which the Project is currently running include; South Africa, Mauritius, Burundi, Ethiopia, Niger and the Gambia.
The Project aims at improving leadership skills for the young people in Scouting, so that they can be prepared to bring positive change to their associations, among their peers, their families and their communities. It is implemented by National Scout Associations in Africa, with coordination from the World Scout Bureau, Africa Regional Office and financial support from the Jacobs Foundation in Switzerland.
To learn more about the Jacobs Foundation, visit: http://www.jacobsfoundation.org/


WORLD AIDS DAY CELEBRATIONS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Following a joint effort by ten National Scout Associations of Southern Africa to mark the World Aids Day, the participating Associations have started reporting on their day’s activities. The Angola Scout Association marked the day through activities in the cities and villages, as well as at the capital city Luanda.

The activities were a joint programme with the Ministry of Health and other agencies and organizations in the country.


SENIOR SCOUT CEDERBERG ADVENTURE, SOUTH AFRICA
The Adventure runs from 30th December 2006 to 10th January 2007.~ The organisers of this event are promising an experience that will be best, new routes, new activities, and whole lot of fun. To see details, visit:
http://www.cederbergadventure.co.za or http://www.scouting.org.za/adventure

MORE ASSOCIATIONS, LOCAL GROUPS AND AREAS GOING ONLINE

eNewsletter FROM SOUTH AFRICA
Scouts in Mpumalanga area of South Africa have created their site, including their online newsletter:~ http://www.scouting.org.za/mpumalanga

eNewsletter FROM BURUNDI
Burundi Scout Association has now launched an email monthly newsletter. It reports on various scout activities in the Association. This is an opportune service that helps to understand and appreciate Scouting in Burundi. It is also a major leap in line with the strategic priority of raising the profile of Scouting. To receive your copy, send an email to:


eNewsletter FROM CONSERTATION OF SCOUT ASSOCIATIONS IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION
The secretariat of the Concertation, located in Burundi has launched the Amahoro (peace) email newsletter. It reports on the Peace education project that the associations have been implementing. It is a welcome tool which reports and helps to understand the work of the scouts in the region, on peace building. To receive your copy, send an email to:

CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA IS EXTENDED
The ICCO of Netherlands has extended support to the above project for a further eight months. The project started in April 2003 and ended in March 2005. The focus of this project was on youth programme development, Adult Resources development, management and capacity building within National Scout Associations. Since then, a series of training workshops were held for all the ten National Scout Associations of Southern Africa; South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Through this project, the Associations also produced training support materials. The second phase will run from February to September 2006 and the concentration will be on finalising the work started in the first phase, mainly Youth Programme and adult Resources Policy implementation. It will also involve training and adoption by the Associations, of the Governance policies of WOSM. The World Scout Bureau, Africa Regional Office, through the Operations Centre in Cape Town, coordinates the project.


FOUNDERS DAY AND AFRICA SCOUT DAY
The idespatch team, at the World Scout Bureau, Africa Regional Office would like to wish all Scouts, Scouters, and National Scout Associations a happy Founder’s Day on the 22nd February. In Africa, the Africa Scout Day will be marked on the 13th of March. We hope that these events will help each one of us in the international Scout family, in Africa and beyond, to renew our commitment to leave this world better than we found it.