A Messenger of Peace - Goes Home

It is with great sadness that we have learned that a great Messenger of Peace has gone home.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia passed away peacefully last evening.  In November 2001, King Abdullah called on Scouts to be Messengers of Peace.  World Scouting took this message to heart, and with the co sponsorship of the King of Sweden, King Abdullah's dream of having young people the world over reach out to their communities and make a difference started.  Since the launch of MoP's internet presence just 26 months ago, over 600 million hours of service have been recorded on line – and every day, hundreds of stories of small and sometimes big efforts by Scouts in far-flung communities are uploaded.

MoP has become the flagship programme of Wold Scouting – and for the first time, the truly global impact of all these small acts of service, and efforts of dialogue, can be seen globally.

Writing today from Ethiopia, where members of the Regal Circle – Howard and Meriel Kilroy and Lars Kolind and Vibeke Riemer - have joined scouts in this amazing country, King Abdullah's legacy can be seen clearly.  Arriving in Axum, 800 kms from the Capital, a troop of 60 Scouts walked from the town to the airport to meet them … dressed in well worn uniforms, these Scouts have an amazing spirit and are proud of the work they do as Messengers of Peace – their troop is one of the 510 school Scout groups in Ethiopia which have used the MoP dialogue training to help ease tensions between different tribes in the historic former capital of Ethiopia.  Where else in the world can you imagine any world leader reaching young people in such a remote area of a developing country, with such a relevant message!

King Abdullah, Messenger of Peace, and true friend of Scouting!

You have gone home, but your legacy lives on in the minds of millions of young men and women!

John Geoghegan