What would a man of the cloth be doing, in Scouting? Are there any complementarities between serving as a clergy and working in Scouting? Or what role does the church have to play in the development of young people? These are questions that a clergy man volunteering in Scouting may be asked. We reached out to one such person, Bishop Gervas Nyaisonga, a Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Mpanda and an Leader Trainer at Tanzania Scouts Association. Below is the interview in which he shares with us about his passion for the work he does with the church and Scouting. Please tell us a little about yourself? I am Bishop Gervas Nyaisonga, born on 3rd November 1966 in Mbozi Tanzania. I completed primary and secondary education in 1982 and 1989 respectively. I immediately joined a major seminary to pursue priestly vocation in the Catholic church, after-which I was ordained a Catholic Priest on 11th July 1996. After the ordination I served in various capacities including Assistant Parish Priest, Seminary Formator, Secondary School Teacher, assistant Lecturer and eventually Bishop. I became a Bishop of Dodoma on 19th March 2011 and later was transferred to my current diocese, Mpanda on 04th May 2014. In 1977 I saw my brothers doing Scout activities and thought Scouting was a game for elder people. I realized the importance of Scouting to me in 1991 when I joined a Senior Seminary. While in the Seminary I was fortunate to meet experienced Scouts from the diocese of Bukoba. Besides their support, I motivated myself to know, practice and live Scouting as much as possible. My involvement exposed me to several local and national training and events. Thus, with time I became a leader of our Scout group in the Seminary. In 1994 the National Scout Association noticed me. I was appointed a District Scout Commissioner for Mbozi. In 2000 I was appointed a Regional Scout Commissioner for Mbeya. I left this duty in 2009 when I was transferred to Mwanza where I was assigned to work in the Catholic University. What do you consider as some of the most memorable experiences and key lessons you have learnt in Scouting over the years? Throughout my life in Scouting I have four major experiences that I can consider as most memorable: Firstly: Through my interaction with children and youth I have experienced and learned that young people need and appreciate involvement of adults in their activities. Involvement of adults in their struggles boosts their morale and the promise success. Working with the young people I could easily identify their stresses and challenges such as inability to access education opportunities, low self-esteem and even stresses stimulated by home/family struggles. My involvement and presence have enabled a number of young people go over these stumbling blocks. Some of my former Scouts are now working in high profile jobs such as Members of Parliament. Second: Through Scouting I have been able to easily interact with adults from various walks of life. Geared towards finding adult volunteers for Scouting, I have become a friend to many adults. These networks were easily forged because of the Scout movement that calls for fraternity, teamwork and mutual relationship. This network of adults have always been good supporters in all my duties as both a Scout and a religious leader. Third: My involvement in Scouting has enabled me to closely relate with civil authorities for the good of our people. I remember one major achievement resulting from this positive relationship with the civil authorities. In 2009 the Tanzania Scout Association requested me to host a National Scout Jamboree. The jamboree was successful because the support of the civil authorities enabled us to raise enough funds to support the event. Were it not the positive disposition of the civil authorities, the jamboree would have failed. Fourth: I personally owe to the Scout movement my abilities in various sectors. Scouting has taught me how to bear with challenges resulting from interaction between the young people and the adults. Scouting has given me a strong-will in the face of seemingly hard challenges. Scouting has given me a strong sense of personal worth and social value. Scouting has made me a man who never easily despairs in confronting a difficult situation. Scouting has taught me to remain stable while other people feel discouraged, especially during moments of loss of property, members, reputation and even life. I acknowledge, without any shadow of doubt, that Scouting has created in me a better leader. How does the Catholic Church view Scouting? Are there any complementarities between the work you do as an Adult Leader Trainer in Scouting and as a Bishop of the Catholic Church? The Catholic Church in Tanzania has not yet affirmed her national level stance towards Scouting. Scouting is however a reality in various dioceses due to the interests of local leaders. Currently, we work on convincing church leaders in the country to appreciate the importance of integrating Scouting in youth leadership and development as per the church’s mission. As both an Adult Leader Trainer and a Bishop I see vividly complementarities between both roles. I confess that I enjoy being a pastor of the young people in our church because I have been well equipped by Scouting in my formation time and as an adult leader. Difficulties in pastoral care of the young people in the church can be handled well with me because from time to time I resort to the Scout Method and values. Each time I appealed to Scout principles I emerged successful in addressing issues pertaining to youth education and development. Where does your motivation to do the work of God and that of youth development come from? How do you manage to effectively fulfill the responsibilities on both ends? My motto as a Bishop comes from a biblical quotation: “The charity of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor. 5:14). My core work is to be a shepherd of the people of God. Among the people of God I am committed to render Pastoral service to, as Jesus did, are the young people. Being so passionate to be at the service of young people, I always feel motivated to be totally engaged in what is meant to develop them. Since Scouting is the movement for young people under the support of adults, I feel there is no way I can excuse myself from serving the young people through Scouting. Were it possible for anyone to take away my Scouting, then he or she would have affected significantly my performance in youth Pastoral ministry. Because of this close interrelatedness between Scouting and religion there is no time I may rightly say that Scouting has stolen precious time and other resources for work in the church and vice versa. I see a necessary synergy between Scouting and work in the church. What role can the Church play in supporting educational youth movements, such as Scouting? The church should and can support educational youth movements such as Scouting by offering sponsorship, motivating church members to value, sustain and participate in Scouting activities and engaging in forming and running youth educational movements because through education of the young people the church’s mission is fulfilled. The church can also play a role in protecting these movements by ensuring that they remain clear of scandals by being a trustee and advocate of the values they espouse. In performing these roles the church will be able to monitor the alignment of Scouting practice and the fundamental principles of the founder. Certainly, many Scouts in Tanzania and beyond consider you as a role model. What is your take on the involvement of adults, especially leaders, in the mentorship of young people? It is regrettable to note that some people feel that some adults are over interfering with youth issues by being involved in Scouting. It is embedded in the history and practice of the movement that involvement of adults in Scouting is important in the implementation of the youth programme. The presence of adults in the Scouting is a requisite for the life of both the movement and the nation. Scouting is important in inculcation of good citizenship based on immutable principles and values. I wish to encourage as many adults as possible to first seek to understand the fundamental principles of Scouting in order to have a rich sense of its value. Then, after being well-informed adults have to take a step of seeking affiliation with the movement. Depending on ones ability, social economic status and personal preferences, adults may take various roles in the movement. There is always a meaningful role for adults to play in the life of young Scouts in the movement. Any last words Though the Scout movement has so far existed in Tanzania for almost one hundred years, the amount of information, education and communication about Scouting is still very little. Many people, administrators and organizations such as churches, mosques and other institutions have very little knowledge about ideals of the Scout movement. It is therefore important that we identify all stakeholders of the movement and then strategize on how to effectively involve them for the realization of the vision of the movement - creating a better world. Definitely, increase of awareness through information, education and communication will be a priority.