MAKKAH — Over 4,500 Saudi volunteer scouts have taken their positions in the Holy Sites to help lost pilgrims find their way to their camps. Every year, scouts go to great lengths and out of their way to help pilgrims as much as they can and make their Haj more comfortable. Last year, over 200,000 lost pilgrims were helped by scouts. The Ministry of Haj and Umrah trains scouts how to guide lost pilgrims in the most practical way. Scouts should be familiar with the guide maps of the Holy Sites and know how to register the information of the missions they perform in the Holy Sites. In 1934, late King Abdulaziz introduced scouting activities in schools. Seven years later, Abdullah Kohja, the principal of Al-Najah Night Schools formed the first scout group with the tasks of organizing movement in schools and providing general services to students. Between 1943 and 1944, Al-Saulatiah School of Makkah formed the second scout team. In the following years, other schools followed suit. In 1955, a law regulated the activities of scouts. The Saudi Arabian Scout Association was established in Riyadh in 1961.
