So how did it happen that what was once the most attractive outfit in town should fall out of step?
Moses Kaisara has an explanation, and it reaffirms the need for organisations to adapt to the ever-changing environment in order to remain relevant.
The Chief Commissioner of the Botswana Scout Association, Kaisara is in his second term as the head of the movement in Botswana. He is candid about what led to the dip in the organisation’s popularity among Botswana’s youth over the years.
“We didn’t change with the times,” he says in introspection. “Any entity has to look at the environment it operates in and strategically keep pace with the changing times, but we were stuck in the old scouting mode. As a result, we were seen as not trendy.”
Being seen as not trendy is just part of the explanation. What happened was that more options ÔÇô either in terms of recreation or youth movements ÔÇô became available, and they ate into the scouting movement’s market share. From a school-based membership of over 10 000, the numbers plummeted to a point of near obscurity. While he does not have the current membership figures, Kaisara states that there are “a few out-of-school groups”.
Since taking over the movement’s leadership in 2008, Kaisara says he has reenergised scouting, and recently membership numbers have been rising. He explains that he had to align its activities to the current environment.
Kaisara still recalls the first activity he initiated to breathe some life into the movement. It was a five-day boot camp for which he had won the buy-in of the high command of the Botswana Defence Force. He had made a compelling presentation to the army’s then commander of Ground Forces, Major General Pius Mokgware, in which he painted the progress the scout movement had achieved in other countries, as well as its potential, which was limited by a scarcity of resources, to equip local youth with life skills. Apparently, Kaisara had made a big impression on General Mokgware that the BDF availed logistics and personnel for the boot camp at which participants were tutored on skills that included swimming, tracking and conservation, map reading and music. This was done in collaboration with the wildlife department.
“It was a very exciting programme, and even some teachers who were only club coordinators expressed interest to be members,” he states. “We received positive feedback from the parents and kids. When a child tells his parents that he has learnt something, and is able to demonstrate it, the parents realise that there is value addition.”
He sees such kind of innovative initiatives as key to winning back members for the movement. But he observes that this is a task that requires wider involvement beyond just the scouting family ÔÇô the community, business sector, as well as schools. There is a bit of good news. The report from a group that he has dispatched to visit schools in Gaborone to revive the movement is that school heads are very eager to have scouting in their institutions. A memorandum of understanding that has been signed with the ministry of education and skills development is meant to define the relationship between the movement and public schools. Kaisara states that the agreement will help guide the movement deliver its programmes in schools. He explains that it was important to have an instrument of this nature in place because 95 percent of the movement’s members are based in schools. With this in place, the next challenge is to capacitate the leaders to teach the young members, and to find resources for outreach programmes to impact on children beyond urban centres.
As he works to bring the scouting movement back to the mainstream, Kaisara knows that he has what communications specialists call an “image problem”. It has to do with the movement’s past which branded it as an organisation mainly known for military style drilling, and a bit of singing.
“If you don’t give kids anything to do, all they will do is to sing and drill,” he says. “But the scouting movement is much broader than that. It is a movement that is meant to mould the youth and ensure their effective participation in the development of their communities. If we give kids the right resources, you will see wonders beyond drill and singing.”
In other countries, Kaisara asserts, scouting is a career education and testing hub that offers young people a platform to explore different careers by exposing them to a range of disciplines, and affording them the opportunity to test their own capabilities. The result is that by the time they enroll for tertiary education, they are in a position to make informed career choices. He argues that this could help address the dilemma of people who find themselves stuck in careers that they only realised that they were not cut out for after graduation. Another plus he mentions is that the exposure helps one to acquire diverse skills. In this regard, there is no better example than the man himself.
“I started at information technology, and worked as an IT expert,” he explains. “I managed IT projects, then I moved to manage all other projects, including construction and electricity. After studying for a Master’s in Strategic Management, I am now head of Strategy Office (at Botswana Examinations Council). I fit almost everywhere.”
Just over 100 years after Robert Baden-Powell founded the worldwide Boy Scouts movement, and 77 years after it was introduced in Botswana, Kaisara maintains that it is still relevant in today’s world. To back this assertion, he recounts some of the founder’s views.
“Robert Baden-Powell believed that if you start moulding young people at an early age, they grow into better citizens,” he says.
He blames many of the current social ills that involve young people on the ample free time they have, and don’t know what to use it for.
And how would scouting help?
“One of the founding principles of scouting is to involve the youth in a more constructive manner and allow them to have input in the society they live in,” he responds. “The main issue is to educate kids through scouting to leverage the school curriculum with outside world. The movement trains the leaders of tomorrow to be able to survive any condition. It puts one through different scenarios to tackle so that in future they are able to encounter any situation without being overwhelmed.”
Kaisara makes the bold assertion that currently there is not enough being done to develop the leadership potential of the youth. He says the problem with various government interventions meant for the youth is that they are developed without input from the people they are meant for. The result is that the youth eventually do not buy in to such initiatives.
At another level, Kaisara observes that where there are youth organisations, they all lack the involvement and appreciation of parents, who should be imparting skills that the youth need to chart their own paths.
“The youth might have new and bright ideas, but parents have the experience to better analyse the situation we are in today, he says.
Kaisara argues that the current unpleasant behaviour of many young people points to a lack of parenting, which results from parents who are virtually absent from their children’s lives.
“For some reason, today’s parents believe that their parental responsibilities end with paying school fees and providing for the material needs of their children. They are virtually absent from their children’s lives, and that absence is a huge blow.
“For a kid to see his parent at an activity he’s participating in is an important motivating factor; it brings the family together, and helps parents to monitor their children’s movements to be able to intervene at the right time in case something goes wrong. These days parents notice a lot of things very late,” he says.
A boy scout since primary school, Kaisara has two explanations for his long association with the movement. The first is the support he received from his parents after they realised his passion for scouting. The second is his deep love for what the scout movement stands for.
“The movement’s vision to create a better world for all has found residence in my life,” he explains. “Everything I do, I think of creating a better life for all.”
