By Hassan Al-Najrani
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
MADINAH — Over 3,000 members of the Saudi Arabian Scout Association stationed in nine locations at Mina helped around 119,000 lost pilgrims find their camps.
The first thing a scout used to do upon finding a lost pilgrim was to key in the pilgrim’s information in the computer and search for the name of the Haj company in the system. Once he gets the needed information, the scout takes the pilgrim to his camp using the google map. The association uses state-of-the-art devices to facilitate the job of its members and help them locate the camps of lost pilgrims quickly.
It was noted that the number of lost pilgrims this year was lower than previous year, thanks to guidance maps distributed by the association to all pilgrims.
The second phase of scouts started in Madinah Thursday and scouts moved with agility in the Central Area of the Prophet’s Mosque to guide pilgrims around.
Saeed J., 22 years old, is one of the scouts, who has been a member of the association for few years. Scouts help the elderly, the physically challenged, and provide various services to pilgrims at Al-Miqat Mosque, Al-Qiblatain Mosque and Quba Mosque.
Many of the young scouts who volunteered in the Holy Sites joined the body because their fathers were scouts. Muhammad A. is one of them. Despite being scrawny, he moved with agility and energy from one street to another, helping lost pilgrims find their camps. Scouting, he said, runs in his blood and something that he loves to do.
Abdullah Al-Qahtani, 51 years old, has worked as a scout for over 30 years. This was the second Haj season in which his son, also a scout, worked with him in the same area.
Arafat Hazazi, 43, has instilled the love of scouting in the minds of his three sons since their childhood. This Haj season, they all worked together serving pilgrims and taking on the responsibility of helping pilgrims.
Issa Abdulaziz, 54, worked side by side with his two sons covering different areas of the Holy Sites. Some fathers met their sons in the Holy Sites by chance because they both worked in different areas, covering different camps.
