What a 17 year old girl knows about Construction...

Nothing. But I was expected to find out and make the most of it. And the most of it I did make!
Not only did  the hours of planning and finally the executing of the mountain of an enterprise go into it, but blood, sweat and literal tears as well. The end result: something I'm utterly proud to put my name to.
In addition I couldn't be more grateful to everyone that helped in the creating of the monument.

I know the posting of this blog is somewhat late, but running into an inspiring writer helps :)
None of the sentiments have changed, and my baby is still standing strong.

A New Found Respect: Springbok, 40 hours of Community Service

“The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.” - Mother Teresa

After a mere 40 Hours of painting the rooms of Tshepisong orphanage, located in Leratong, one can just imagine what people who paint for a living go through. The painting was tough and getting the paint out of our hair was even tougher. Working with oil based paint and turpentine has definitely given me a new found respect for painters.
The experience is valued & has taught me to never take anyone's hard work for granted.

Besides the hard work, myself & the 40 odd Scouts who assisted with the project, were exposed to the way of living of other people. The Tsephisong informal settlement is far removed from the world of the more privileged and what we are used to. We all believe our lives are difficult, but the question to ask is, in comparison to what?

My Springbok Meal - An Eastern Feast

It was the 25th of June and a lot of preparation was taking place at the 1st Honeydew Scout Hall...
That evening my Springbok meal was to take place and with the help of four very crucial Scouts we prepared an Eastern Feast!
With all the jobs delegated, we began preparing a three course meal over an open fire.
For starters I made samoosas with a pineapple salsa. For the main meal, Keegan prepared an Indian lagos chicken dish and Wade prepared a vegetable curry, both paired with naan bread prepared by Mark.
For dessert, an Indian Soji pudding was perfected by Brandon.

For the evening I invited three guests to join me, the District Commissioner- Harley, and his wife Tamara, and then the Enigma Rover Crew Chairman, Chris Shead.

I am glad to say the guests enjoyed the meal quite thoroughly and were delighted at the exoticness of my chosen theme.

It was a candle lit dinner, the table was decked out with pretty candle stands, daisy flowers in holders and burning incense to set the scene. As it was an especially cold evening we ate inside the hall sitting beneath a gazebo with Eastern cloths hanging from the sides. Besides the weather, it gave the quality of a truly Eastern Feast.

A very big thank you to everyone who attended. As the first requirement I completed for my Springbok, I am glad that it is over; it was definitely a feat!

Communtiy Service

In 2010 I was required to complete 10 hours of community service. I contacted a government home in Witpoortjie and went to see what I could do to make the home more enjoyable for the children. I decided to paint the walls of the kids outside play area, I also collected and donated toys and clothes for the children of the home.



A special thank you to the Viridian company for donating the paint and also to Anthony, Lauren and 1st Bordeaux for helping with the cleaning and painting of the walls.

The day was incredibly enjoyable and it was great to get to know the other Scout's from 1st Bordeaux!

The Scout Laws

1. A Scout's honour is to be trusted.

2. A Scout is loyal.

3. A Scout's duty is to be useful and help others.

4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.

5. A Scout is courteous.

6. A Scout is a friend to animals.

7. A Scout obeys orders.

8. A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.

9. A Scout is thrifty.

10. A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.

The Promise

On my Honour I promise that I will do my best;
To do my duty to God and my country;
To help other people at all times;
To obey the Scout Law.

A Scout's Pride is their "honour". When you make this promise when you get invested into your troop it means that you can be trusted and that people can depend on you. A Scout's character is their reputation.

Without the words "your best" the promise would be somewhat impossible to keep. If you can honestly say "I did my best to keep the promise, but could not", then you have succeeded.

As you grow through Scouting your understanding of your duty to God and your country will grow as well.
Having a good heart, being thankful, respecting your parents and living in accordance with your faith is how you should keep the promise in this respect.

In Scouts, helping others is very admirable. It is an aim that you try to do a good turn to someone everyday. You promise to help other people at all times, which means anyone in need, not just your friends.

When you say the promise, you also promise to obey the 10 Scout Laws. These practical rules should become you way of life and help you to grow up to be a worthy member of society who will always be there for your fellow people.

Orienteering on a Sunday afternoon

On the agenda for this fine Sunday: Orienteering!

Scouts from the Troop are ready to run around on the picturesque plot & horse farm in Crowethorn. With compasses and clues set up and printed by myself in the hands of the teams of scouts, they're ready to set off and try get the fastest times and answer all the questions that I've put up along the way...

To set up the course and the route for the Scouts takes a lot of hard work. Beforehand, I have to walk the way myself, taking bearings at every turn and write it down. This is where one's mapping skills come in handy.   

Well done to Caitlin and Danielle for winning the event, they completed the route in the fastest time and answered all of the questions correctly

And a big thank you to everyone else who attended!



Kim's Shield - 2011

Kim's Shield, an experience one will never forget. As one of the few provincial events it was something not to be missed!

Kim's Shield is one of the events that can really describe what Scouting is all about. Arrive on Friday and set up camp; Wake up early on Saturday morning and set off to do the incident hike.
As one of the patrols with the expressed intention to do well, I made sure everything was perfect.
We went from base to base doing all types of activities: cooking, pioneering, first aid, knotting, GPS work, stalking, identifying spoor, fun and interesting activities like the Tower of Hanoi, bow & arrow shooting, and ground to air signalling.
At each base we get points out of 100 and try to accumulate as many as possible, this is how you win!
Of course, its not only about winning, but the simple act of participating, getting to know other Scouts from around the province and making new friends.

With my patrol of 4 boys, we did extremely well, within the province, out of 52 patrols, we came 2nd! The immense pride & happiness I felt for my boys & I was incredible! Its moments like these where I really know why I do scouts.

How To Join The Movement

At the moment I'm Based in South Africa, Gauteng, and go to 1st Honeydew Scouts in Randburg.

A scout troop can be found near you, no matter where you are- Durban, Cape town, Namibia, Kenya, China, America... Worldwide, You just have to look!

Search the internet, local directories and get in contact with someone.
If you are in the district of Randburg the best person to Contact would be James Eames: 082 294 9568
Get involved ;)

If you have any questions, you're welcome to post a comment and I will try and help you out.

Why Scouting?

Where is the sense of adventure in sitting at home and doing the ordinary?
I think everyone has that need to go and explore the great outdoors!
It's all waiting to be discovered... One great way of getting the full experience is Scouting.
Scouts is where one learns things that one would never think they would end up knowing. Skills like- pioneering, first aid, orienteering, cooking, community service, camping, hiking and most importantly- how to have fun!
Sound foreign? It should sound intriguing! And all in good time I will showcase what its all about on this blog. Don't have the patience to find out? Good! Then you need to get to the nearest troop in your area and start the adventure.

Scouting is a worldwide movement, there are over 30 million members, both girls and boys.  It has undoubtedly become... their way of life. It certainly has become for me. The ultimate goal in one's Scouting career is to achieve their Springbok - the top award in Scouts.

The best age to start scouts would be around 12, but if you have the determination, you definitely can start later. After being invested in a troop, you work your way through sets of advancements. There are 5 advancements, the last being Springbok which needs to be completed before turning 18.

The Advancements: Pathfinder, Adventurer, First Class, Explorer and finally Springbok.

I am busy working on Explorer, and one of the requirements is to display and promote scouting, so I chose to do a blog. I am going to be spreading the site as far and wide as possible, so reading this now, I hope you're enjoying it! Over the next few months I'll be blogging about the going on's of my troop  and the type of activities we do. And thus hopefully recruit a few new scouts along the way!

Scouting is something one never regrets once you've started.
Scouts teaches you discipline, hard work, leadership and invaluable skills. It stays with you your whole life and what you've learnt never leaves you.

So thank you for joining me on my blogging journey, I hope you enjoy what's to come!