Scout and Cub Day in Welkom

On our second last day in Welkom, we were all up early to prepare to host up to 400 cubs and scouts (in the end we had about 100 there) for a day of various activities ranging from compass work to carnival games. The day was divided into two sections. Before lunch, the activities were more fun and games whereas after lunch they were more skill building.


Along with Gillian, we were in charge of face painting. Popular designs were butterflies, hearts, bees, cats, dogs, beavers, rainbows and maple leaves. For most of the kids, face painting was a completely new experience. It is rare for them to have this opportunity. Growing up in Canada, face painting is very common at fairs and festivals. We can hardly keep track of how many times we have had our faces painted, but here seldom have ever had the chance.

Surprisingly, many of the kids wanted a beaver drawn on their face, which we found difficult. Almost all the kids had animals and shapes all over their faces when they left our station, and we even had time to draw on the other contingent members and ourselves before lunch.

After lunch, the kids lined up again at the flag poles. Since we were done working at the face painting station, we had the opportunity to join a patrol for the second half of the day. The activities, as mentioned, were more skill building during this half of the day, so the stations run were things like "How To Use A Drill" and "Turning On A Computer." They were skills that we normally wouldn't think to put into a program for days like this, but the kids learned a lot of interesting and useful things.

After everyone had gone through each activity, there was a short closing ceremony and those who were staying overnight went out to the tents in the back.

All in all, it was a very interesting day. Face painting was definitely a highlight. All the kids were so excited to look in the mirror at their face paintings, and it was very rewarding to think that we provided them with an opportunity that they normally wouldn't have.

Bye for now,

Brenna and Ivy
The Country Bookends

And they're off!!

Just a quick, and we mean quick update!!

We are boarding in 20 minutes, and just wanted to let you know that we are safe!!

Caroline made it on her flight to Capetown and the rest of us are ready to start the long journey home.

Hopefully we can update once in Heathrow, but if not, we look forward to telling you all our stories in person tomorrow.

The Dream Team,

Creighton and Gillian

Greetings from Jo'burg

Greetings from Jo'burg,

This is just a quick blog to let everyone know that we are all safe and sound in Jo'burg. Leaving Welkom Sunday morning, we travelled to Mafikeng- the birthplace of Scouting. Here, we stayed at the SCENE (Scout Centre for Excellence in Nature and the Enviornment) Centre and toured Mafikeng, including the Old Main Hall (now a museum) and Baden-Powell Hall. We also visited a game reserve before heading out to Pilanesburg National Park. Here we went on a safari ride where we saw all types of animals! Last night, we drove to Jo'burg and are now staying at the Gilwell Centre. Today we went to the Cradle of Humankind and tomorrow we plan on visiting the Scout Shop, along with some other places. I'd go into more detail, but we have people who are writing blogs about our time here, and I don't want to steal their thunder.

Like we expected, internet access here is limited and hard to find. Currently, I'm sitting in an internet cafe while others do the grocery shopping for dinner. That means, if you don't hear from your kid, or have a daily update to this blog, we apologize, but are trying to be flexible. We expect that tomorrow evening (at the airport) we'll be able to access the internet and will update you, in detail, about all the wonderful things we've been doing.

The point of this blog, you ask? To let you know: we are safe, and having one incredible time.

Your fearless Patrol Leaders,
Gillian and Creighton

House of Hope

Today started out disappointing, but it quickly got better. First, we were informed by Lawrence that we wouldn’t be able to go to the last school, as the strike made it too dangerous. Instead, we worked around the Scout Centre here in Welkom. We made signs, painted windows and doors and picked up garbage around the compound. Many hands made light work, and soon we were finished.


After having a quick lunch, we were then given a choice – we could either stay at the compound, go to the mall, or visit a place called ‘House of Hope’. We (Alanna and Kristin) chose to go to House of Hope, which is a house for babies with HIV/AIDS that were abandoned by their parents. There were 5 kids there, from 5 months to a year and 3 months. They were all bursting with energy and curiosity, but didn’t like their baths very much! With 12 of us visiting, babies were in short supply- but as we were taught in Beavers: “Sharing, sharing, sharing!” We helped bathe, feed, and generally love them. That’s all they wanted: to be loved, and that we could do.

While it’s sad that these babies were abandoned in the first place, it is good to know that there is a place they can be taken care of, where they can get the care and love they deserve. Each baby had their own personality, whether squawky and attention-grabbing, or quiet and reserved, they were all different.

We were fortunate that Val told us about this place and took us there with her. Val is a local reporter who stopped by the other day to ask us a few questions about what we’re doing. So impressed with our work, she brought her children by today to visit us and learn from us. Val visits House of Hope every Friday (particularly for one girl, but plays with them all) and invited us along with her today.

We arrived back at the compound to the smell of pancakes – tonight was Canada Night! We ate pancakes and maple syrup with some of our South African friends who’ve been with us since the beginning of our stay here in Welkom. We also played Frisbee and keep-it-up in the dark, and danced to Canadian artists for hours on end.

Tomorrow we play host to many South African Cubs and Scouts. We’ll be organizing many different activities and have to get up early – horror!

Love,
Your wonder twins: Kiki and Alanna

Safe and Sound

Good Morning,

Recently, the civil servants of South Africa have gone on strike, causing disruptions in health care, public transportation and schools.  While we are determined to complete our project, we understand that the safety of our youth must always come first.

For this reason, we are unable to go work today, as schools have been deemed unsafe by the police.  Children are being sent home for their personal safety.  We have chosen to spend our day working at the Scout Centre again.  There are still a lot of little projects around our temporary home which we would like to complete as a thank you for hosting us these past two weeks.

Please also know that we are working with local South African Scouts, who come from the communities where we are working.  They are helping to ensure our safety, with constant contact with the schools and police.  For the week ahead, we will also be travelling with South African Scouts, not only to ensure our safety, but to share in the Brotherhood of Scouting.

Next week, we plan on leaving for Mafikeng on Sunday, and will eventually end up in Johannesburg.  Regardless of what activities we would like to do, as always, our personal safety will come first and we are prepared to make changes if needed.

Please be aware that while our Internet capabilities to update this blog over these past 2 weeks have been mostly reliable, we are unsure of what Internet access we will have, once leaving the Scout Centre.  We will make our best effort to update the blog, but as we must be flexible, we ask the same of you and please be patient with us, as we are with the Internet.

If you have any questions, please comment on the blog, or if you are a parent, please use your emergency contact information to contact Ross Francis.

Yours in Scouting,

Gillian and Creighton
Patrol Leaders

Be Flexible

NOTE: As some of you may know, there is currently some disruptions around South Africa by groups of government workers on strike. Please know that we are no where near the riots, and are taking every step possible to ensure our safety at all times.

Today, we all woke up more excited than ever. It was the day that we would complete the last of the eight schools, which meant that the remaining days would just be relaxing and going places. We were ready to leave on time, when we heard some news that made our hearts stop, and made our smiles disappear. As you may know, currently in South Africa, teachers are on strike and we were told to not attend the school today for our own safety.

People were rioting around our specific school and they often get very dangerous. As our hearts sank, we desperately thought of what we should do for the day. We decided to go to Morning Star to buy some of the many uniquely made cards and bags that we saw from our first visit. After everyone bought whatever they liked, we all quickly gathered and went to spend some time with the kids.

As we all played with the kids, there was one little girl who seemed to really like me. I noticed her just staring at me, smiling, as I got my butt kicked in a hula hoop contest by a young boy who is probably no older than three years old. As I hurried over to her, she started laughing and together we played on the swings. She didn’t want to stop and would shoo other children away to keep me to herself. Playing until they had to go for lunch, we then returned to the Scout Centre to work on our To Do list to help out the place that we’ve called home for the past two weeks.

Having PB&J for lunch, I don’t recommend the Pomelo Marmalade. It’s nasty. For the rest of the afternoon, I helped polish the Scout sign while other people raked the gardens, cleaned gutters and painted the window frames. It’s just a small way to return the favour of them putting up with us.

While today was supposed to be our last day of construction at the schools, things change and we have to change with them. Our Code of Conduct for this trip says we have to Be Flexible, and today we put that to the test. Hopefully tomorrow, we are able to complete our task of building the last water reservoir.

By Farrad

A Once in A Lifetime Experience

First, I would like to start with a haiku (inspired by Bruce):

Wow! South Africa

Is a real eye-opener

But has gone by fast.

It's hard to believe that we're already done the first seven schools, with only one left. It still feels like I was just saying goodbye to friends and family yesterday.

The school we went to today already had gutters installed, so we were able to finish early. All we had to do was redirect the down-spout and install the water tanks.

With so much time left in the afternoon, we decided to stop at a local market where we were able to get fresh fruit and plenty of South African soccer jerseys.

Once we got back to the headquarters, we partook in a seminar on HIV/AIDS. Normally this is a mandatory two day course the local Scouts take for awareness and possible prevention. It's unbelievable how common and devastating HIV/AIDS is, compared to the way it's portrayed at home. The life expectancy in South Africa has dropped from 65-70 years old to 44 years old, since the outbreak of HIV/AIDS. It seems like everyone here has directly, or indirectly been affected by such a deadly epidemic.

Even with such overwhelming poverty, and the shanty towns that seem to go on for miles, the difference is truly seen at the schools. With every new tank we install, there seems to be more children, that are even happier, and even more eager to help.

Not only are we changing the lives of the South African students, but also the perspectives of the Canadian volunteers.

By Steven Avery

Mitch’s Blog

Today we’re back to school to work just like the week before. This week, however, we are working in Odendaalsrus, which is the next town to Welkom. Odendaals, which is a surname and Rus meaning Rust. Instead of the township of Thabong, we are now working in the township Kutloanong. Even so, Monday morning we were back into routine. The past week we were arriving in our contingent wear for each school. However some schools had their Scouts come and greet us, and one school even had the entire school together for an assembly for our arrival. We thought that if this should happen again, we should be at least in our proper uniform, so now we wear our uniform shirts with work shirts underneath, ready to work. Everyone woke early today, so we were ready and at the school by 9am. We had a quick breakfast of baked oatmeal made by Shannon and Thomas, and continued to the Impucuko School. We passed at least four mines on our 20 minute drive. It’s like Sudbury, but more with mines.

Our school today had to have some demolition, as we removed the old, rotten gutters so we could put up ours. The Scouts of the school sang and danced with those of us that had no work at the time making the day even more fun. All the construction went well until we found that our gutter had been put together backwards. Thankfully, Bruce was able to easily fix it and we finished all our work just before lunch. The school served lunch, and after that we left.

On the way back, we stopped at the cemetery. It was very large and only ten years old! We were told there are about 50 funerals every Saturday, mainly for those that died because of AIDS. Back at home, we did the normal stuff: showered, played soccer, mailed postcards, threw a rugby ball, etc. For Dinner, Bruce and Caroline made a delicious meal of shish kabobs.

The 17th was much the same, but today we went to Rearabatswe School. We took down the gutters and put up the new ones. At the end of the day, we went back home to the Scout Centre. A lady from a local magazine came to interview us, and we told her all about the project and other recreation things we have done, such as the night hike and gold mine. For dinner we all went out to Nando’s which served halal meat.

There are only two schools left, and it’s been a great experience.

By Mitchell

Hot Mines and Fighting Off Lions

After a long week of work, our weekend was packed with exciting attractions. On Saturday morning we woke up extremely early to visit Ho Lokisa Masimong Mine. It was a special opportunity to visit the mine because they usually do not allow group tours. We were warned that the hot and humid mine wasn’t for everyone. However, with the cold, dry Welkom weather most of us were extremely excited.

Each person was fitted with bulky miner overalls, hard hats, work gloves and gum boots. Then we were given a headlamp with a very heavy battery pack. We felt like we were a team of ghost busters more than miners. The mine operators did not allow bringing anything not even food because illegal miners would take food and stay underground to mine for gold. Some of the group went up the elevator of the mine to see the beautiful view and tour the worksite.

The elevator sent our contingent (at eighteen metres per second) down two kilometers underground where we climbed rickety staircases and climbed through dark mucky tunnels of a live mine. Everything seemed like a movie set except it was real! We were able to see the miners in action in little caves supported by only wood stacks that replaced what used to be sturdy walls of ore. Occasionally, we stopped to let the locos (the locomotives) pass carrying nearly forty tonnes of ore that ran on electricity. The heat felt almost like Canadian summers until we got to where the miners worked. Deep inside the mine where we have to crawl to move forward, the heat was unbearable! It is hard to imagine how a typical miner spends eight hour shifts underground in such heat. Every rest stop, we could hear Kevin’s voice telling us to drink more water. The walls were marked with black where a sample of gold was found and that would be where they would extract to a refinery. We saw other parts of the ore that had glimmering gold stripes which was Fool’s Gold.

Two hours later, we escaped the heat with sweat-soaked suits and emerged back to the surface. We were all very thankful for a icy cold shower! What an educational and insightful experience. It was an interesting view to experience such a difficult work environment.

On Sunday morning, everyone piled in our vans excited to see lions and other animals at the Lechwe Lodge. We were greeted with an appetizer of biltong on bruschetta. The first animal that we saw was the lions. Everyone could barely stay in their seats because they all wanted to snap a picture of the animals. Thankfully, the lions did not attack us. We continued to drive on and encountered a pack of baby white lion cubs. To our surprise, our guide encouraged us to play with the lion cubs and they were very playful. Many of our team members were attacked with several bites and tears in our clothing. Don’t worry no one was seriously injured! The only real damage we had was Alanna’s camera being attacked by the baby white lion cubs. With a few cuts and scrapes we can proudly say that we survived! We also saw many buffalo, kudu, springbuck and even the bird’s nest of the smallest bird in South Africa. We drove by a herd of zebras that were just a little bit camera shy and ran away. However, the giraffe stayed to pose with many members of our team. Did you know that hippos are the number one killers of humans in South Africa? Thankfully, we only saw a fake one. We then had a delicious lunch and waved goodbye to the llamas and ostriches on our way back home.

Bruce Hunter- Lion Tamer

By Ivy Wan, Mitchell Ekels and Brenna Doucette

Cement Forms Construction Sites

Last Wednesday, there was a small group of people who broke from the main group to prepare the cement forms for 4 schools. These cement slabs are then used for the water tanks to sit on. First, the ground needed to be leveled with a pick axe, shovel and the best tool of all the pry-bar. In case you don't know what a pry-bar is, it's a huge metal rod with a sharpened pointy end. It is excellent at breaking up cement.
The first school is the one that took the longest as we all had to learn how to build a form to pour cement. By the end of the day we were all experts at hammering, leveling and digging.

You take 2 long pieces of plywood and a 2 short pieces of plywood and you make a rectangle of 4 meters by 2 meters. You then move the box onto the space where you want it. Then comes the most difficult part, leveling the form. You take a level and make sure that the bubble is in the middle of the tube. Most often it isn't and you have to dig the ground out; the cold ground, that occasionally has lots of rocks and or chunks of cement in it. Once the ground is leveled, the rebar rods were driven into the ground with large hammers. Nothing better then hitting a small stick of metal with a 14 lb. hammer! The final step before packing up was tying some wire to the rebar on the long ends. You ensure the tension by making 45 degree twist on the wire. By the last school we had it to such a system that we got it done in 30 minutes!

I am still not doing well with Afrikaans. I can't get spelling or pronunciation properly at one of the schools I had to write down the name of the school. As i was writing it out Rodger said I could just call the school "Chicken". This got great laughs from the locals, but left the canadians confused.

What I tried as the spelling for the school was "Ookopuko". This got a laugh from the south African scout with us who offered to spell it for me. "Impucuko" is the proper spelling.

By Caroline Kwong

The Wonderful Children of Morning Star

When someone says Africa, most people think of 2 things. The first thing many people think of is poverty and hunger, which we are addressing directly with our project. The second is HIV/AIDS. On Thursday, August 12, 2010 we went to Morning Star, a day-time care facility for children living with HIV. When we arrived we were greeted by a worker who explained everything they do at the facility. In the morning they go around to pick up about 90 children, starting with younger school children, all the way down to newborns. The children are provided with a wonderful all-day care facility which includes pre-school lessons. When they are old enough they go to a local school but maintain ties with the facility for birthday celebrations and medical care. Schooling is also available for primary grades for children who are not well enough to attend regular school. The children are fed good nutritious meals, given lots of outside and inside play time as well as rest time and daily lessons. A full time nurse is also available to provide care, and a doctor is on site to provide care and medicine at no charge to the children. After a tour we were shown a separate area where they teach the mothers and caregivers of the children to sew and do other crafts to give them extra income.

After having a chance to browse and buy the beautiful pillowcases, aprons, t-shirts and bags we were welcomed to join in with the children’s playtime. As soon as I knelt down close to the children I had one little boy tackle me in one of the most warm and loving hugs I have ever had. These children were the most happy, loving, caring, energetic young children I have ever met. They all wanted to be picked up, hugged, cuddled, and treated as the adorable children they are. After about 15 minutes I had completely forgotten that these children were infected with this horrible disease. They were as normal as anyone. The games kept up for hours, the children outlasting us all. By the time we left, all our hearts had been warmed with joy, love, and zest for life.

By Joyce Berkers
 
For more information about Morning Star, visit their website at : http://www.morningstar.org.za/

A Must See Experience

So far our trip has been fairly easy for everyone; we have participated in some cultural experiences and observed from a reasonable distance the issues of poverty and hunger. Although we have driven past many shanty towns and areas that are obviously well below the standard of living we are used to in Canada, we have passed these areas on the highway or driven through them briefly on our way to a work site. Wednesday was different.

I was part of the group that went to four different schools to lay the wooden forms for the concrete bases the water resevoirs will be installed on. These schools were all witihin a few minutes of each other, and each was further inside the shanty towns. Initially it is easy to simply acknowledge that these are poor areas and get on with our work, however this became more difficult as the day wore on. The schools we visited are surrounded by razor wire security fences which must be unlocked to allow any visitors such as ourselves inside. Our last school of the day provided a stark contrast to life in Canada. The drainage gutters next to the vegetable garden had water in them, which was unusual since it is the dry season and there is no rain. We were informed that a manhole was backed up; the water was actually raw sewage backing up from the school. The water we could see in the fields on the other side of the fence was raw sewage from the shanty town that the school is on the edge of. This would be an outrage in the communities that we come from, and the nearby vegetable gardens would likely be considered unsafe for eating because of the proximity to the sewage. But this is the environment they live in.

On our way to the work sites we passed a fairly large cemetary with many new graves easily identified by mounds of fresh earth. Our local guide explained that this cemetary holds up to 50 funerals each Saturday; the result of HIV/AIDS in the community. This community only has an infection rate of approximately 33%, significantly lower than other parts of the country. The cemetary is only 10 years old and has many, many more graves than significantly older cemetaries in other parts of the world. We hear numbers and statistics about the epidemic, but numbers do not provide the real effect that this cemetary did. Numbers are sometimes just numbers; these are real people with lives and families. Standing at the side of the road paying our respects and contemplating what we were seeing was sobering. It was a very quiet car ride back to our base.

We saw some things that are difficult to see and impossible to brush aside as someone elses problem. Although it was difficult, these are things everyone should see. Once you have you can never be the same again.

Written by Dawn

Working is a lot of Fun

Working is a lot of fun

We rivet and use power tools under the sun.
We’ve learned how we’ve taken water for granted
The resources will help the growth of those things planted
Even though the weather is really cool
The community will benefit from our work at the school
First we laid the foundation,
Then we put in the creation;
Big green tanks from the ground to the roof top we climb,
To install the gutters in such short time.
Our spare time we played with the kids, and learnt how phenomenal this country is.

With every rivet, we are Creating A Better World.

By Brenna, Kelly and Ivy (Dictated by Andrew)

The 39th Annual Battered Boot Night Hike According to Beaver

Featuring Bruce Hunter, Shannon deLange, Brandon Scott, Kelly Brand, Mitch Ekels, and Steven Avery. Special guest appearance by Doctor, not a real doctor, but a local South African to ensure our survival.

The hike held in Kimberly was explained to be simple and enjoying. Little were we aware that the hike would develop into a full on adventure. We spent the night walking through the dark over rocks, hills, grass, fences and spiky trees (with special attention to the word spiky – many people have scares to remember them by).

Our hike was developed through the creation of a map following the coordinates posted in our information booklet. From there we were required to visit each checkpoint within a certain period of time or penalties would be implied. Although the ability to navigate to each point within the required time was made difficult by the use of a twenty year old map. Despite the difficultly of getting from point to point, the individuals in our group made the journey truly amazing. Each person was lively, enthusiastic, willing and able to overcome any adversity which came our way.

Our journey started at 8:20PM on Sunday 8th with two other troops from our contingent participating in the night hike. The first checkpoint [Foxtrot] took our group approximately an hour and a half to locate three point four kilometers away from base camp [Alpha]. The terrain during this portion of our travels were mostly flat but included a great deal of spiky bushes. Once at the first checkpoint, we spent forty minutes waiting to leave for the second point [Charlie]. We must admit this waiting session was quite cold and dark since lights were deemed inappropriate while waiting. While traveling to the second checkpoint we were unable utilize the map provided when navigating the local area due to changes in both terrain and human property such as fences and roads. We looked for many different land marks to identify our position in order to properly set our course. Although we found out quite quickly that the road we were searching for was not so near nor was the fence actually still in the original location as described on our map. After a long period of time going in different directions to locate a local road we soon found it was no where near the location we began to expect it in, eventually it lead us towards the second checkpoint that so many found to be hidden or non-existent. We spent a short period of time taking a much needed break enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and a sweet treat of Smarties. One of the other patrols pasted by us heading towards the final checkpoint while we were relaxing. (“Sadly” they had missed a few other points along the way.)
Quickly after being given permission to leave the second checkpoint we were on our way towards the third checkpoint [Echo]. This checkpoint was within a kilometer's distance of our first checkpoint we originally visited. Our group was determined to quickly complete the last two checkpoints before settling down for a short sleep. The trek included as well traveling over the same terrain experienced in our previous journeys. After about two hours, we found ourselves near a small farm which we decided to be just a bit too far off course. Within thirty minutes we stumbled upon the third checkpoint, spending less than five or so minutes at before departing for our final checkpoint [Night]. The last of our journey could be described as one of the greatest, most painful, mind blowing and sleepless times of our entire experience. Words cannot describe what happened or how the individuals within our group reacted.
By Brandon Scott

The 39th Annual Battered Boot Night Hike: According to Praire Dog

First, we were told that we had to get up at some insane hour! When wake up was called, nobody wanted to wake up at 5:30am! We were rushed to eat breakfast, and in the car by 7:00. It was a 3 hour drive to Kimberly, and the ride was spent playing cards and talking! When we arrived at someone’s house at around 10:00, and relaxed in the living room, and ate these fruit that looked like over sized oranges, but tasted like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. And another fruit that looked like a kumquat, but the inside tasted like lemonade! Soon we were on our way to the night hike.

We arrived right before opening started, and were given the history and rules of the hike. We learned that the hike occurs once a year and is a competition between scout groups. You are marked on the things you chose to bring the hike, the route you choose to take, the log you created about the hike, and the time it took you to finish it (and whether you finish it at all!). We arrived there 7 hours before the hike even started, so we talked to other South African scout/guide groups and started our map! Our group was called the Prairie Dogs, and the other 2 were the Beavers and Moose! All Canadian animals!

We were the last 3 groups to leave at 8:20, but all three of us had different routes! My group’s first checkpoint was Echo, and it took us a total of five hours to find it! And we only found it because we were led there by another group! There were so many thorn bushes, rocks, and tall grass to walk though at night with our bags! We were soooo scratched up by the thorns!! We were the only group too make it back before 6:00 in the morning! One group arrived at around 7:00, and the other group spent the night under the stars because they were lost!!

The 39th Annual Battered Boot Night Hike: According to The Moose Patrol

Featuring Thomas Walker, Brenna Doucette, Dawn Garden, Joyce Berkers, Gillian Roberts and Creighton Avery. Special Guest appearance by Edgar- a local South Africa to ensure our survival. 

 We arrived at the Night Hike at bright and sunny noon. There was an opening ceremony with all the participating patrols before we drove off to our mustering point. We then proceeded to receive safety instructions for the hike. There was a total of 26 patrols competing (all of them younger than us) for the Battered Boot.

When we got to Alpha (our mustering point), we were given a map to draw our route out on. We had some difficulty plotting our route, so we got some help from Wayne, one of the head coordinators of the hike. He supplied us with a ruler and protractor, which made plotting a lot easier.

Once we had things sorted out, we were told that we had to wait until 8:20 to set off on our hike. The first group left at 7, but they left the 3 Canadian patrols for last. It was quite a long wait, and it was pitch dark by the time we got started. The was no moon, but with a quick astronomy lesson from Ashley, we were able to point out the Southern cross and seeing the milky way was incredible, because it normally isn’t as defined in the North.

About 15 minutes into our hike to the first check point, I (Brenna) accidently walked into a very thorny bush, one of, oh, about all of them. As the others walked ahead, it wasn’t long before Thomas and Dawn doubled back to help me out. The others had no idea what was happening when we yelled back that we were pulling out the first aid kit. They were even more confused when Dawn told them that she was pulling out the gauze. In the end, I had pulled out the thorns stuck in my jeans with my left index finger. Because of that I had three thorn holes in my finger. After wiping and gauzing it, it was fine.

When we got to check point Charlie, we had a quick snack and headed off to our next check point (Bravo) where the people in our contingent who didn’t hike were staying. Here, we unfortunately had to leave Gillian for the night who had hurt her ankle along the way.

From Bravo, our route took us back to check point Alpha, where we discovered that we had passed 2 groups that had the same route as us and left earlier. The coordinators were genuinely surprised and weren’t expecting us for at least another hour.

We then started towards check point Echo, which was our second last check point on our route. We thought we were doing great, but little did we know, we were screwed. And it wasn’t because of our navigation skills. It could easily have been due to our lack of sleep and physical exhaustion though as we had already been up for 21 hours and counting. At first, we were determined to find our way to Echo, mapping alternate routes to Charlie. However, in the end we decided that we were officially lost and needed to bunk down like we had been told to do. We found a tree with minimal thorn bushes surrounding it, and laid out our collective sleeping gear. Cuddling for warmth, we got an entire 2 hours of sleep before the sun came up.

Once we were up and packed, we started our walk towards the gate we were told to meet at in the morning. Almost immediately after arriving at the gate, we saw a pick up truck coming to rescue us. While we were sitting in the back on the drive to the overnight check point, it was almost as though we were having a private safari ride. We spotted different types of birds and other interesting animals.

When we got to the overnight check point, we met up with everyone else from our contingent. They were extremely glad to see us alive. After eating the provided breakfast, we attended the closing ceremony, ran to the vans and slept!

Thomas sums up this experience in 5 words: adventurous, new, challenging, insightful, and bonding. Other members of the group sum it up in one quote created by Creighton. “I’m cold, I’m tired, I’m hungry, I have to pee, and I’m loving every minute of it!”

Foreign and Exotic in Africa

Ever come home from camp and one of the greatest things is a familiar face waiting for you? While we may never have met Ashley and Craig face to face, their warm smiles and left-handshakes made us feel welcome and at home immediately. Both are active in local Scouting and served not only as our welcoming committee but continued to be our guides for the first few days in Africa. With their help, we easily gathered ourselves (including taking overloaded airport carts on a wild escalator ride) and piled into our three rented vans…standard transmission vans…on the left side of the road…at midnight…. Like the Venturer motto says: Challenge.


Staying at the Girl Guide Centre in Johannesburg, we retreated to the luxury of bunk beds with mattresses- and PILLOWS! The next morning there wasn’t much time for touring as we set off for Welkom- which has become our home for the next three weeks.

Once in Welkom, we were greeted by various Scouting members and they helped us set up tents and prepared a delicious traditional meal.
Once everyone was moved in, we suddenly heard shouting and singing coming from the main room. Running in to see the excitement, we saw an impromptu campfire (sans fire) happening before our eyes. Jumping in with both feet we amazed them with our Penguin Song. Have YOU ever seen a penguin drinking tea? If you haven’t, ask Bruce. We, in turn, were also amazed with their songs and high energy levels. Singing along, we quite often couldn’t understand the words, but gave it our all anyways. It goes to show, that even though we live of opposite sides of the world, Scouting and songs can bring us all together.

We look forward to more songs, more stories, and more adventures in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned for stories of our incredible night hike adventure from various members as they each give their own interpretation of the night. (Note to parents: all survived with smiles, although extremely sleep deprived.)

Yours in Scouting,
Creighton, Gillian and Dawn

And they’re off!

How long does it take to get to South Africa from Camp Samac? Anyone? Take a guess! 6 hours? 14 hours? 20 HOURS? You are mistaken. In fact, the travel- via London Heathrow International Airport- took us 25 hours. One may ask how you spend 25 hours cramped on a plane/car with people you met only days before. Answer: Friendship bracelets. We’re not kidding. (Thanks Joyce and Alanna.) Do you know how many boys now know how to make friendship bracelets? The answer is more than two.

Also, those strangers aren’t really strangers any more but an extended family of sorts. Every family has to have its nuts...except those allergic to them, of course.
Several people claim they have been to London, England, although we were just running through it…literally. Some would say travelling to three different continents on your 16th birthday would be cool, others may say 25 hours on the go is not the best way to celebrate. You’ll have to ask Thomas- even the ladies next to him sang happy birthday at midnight with us. Birthday gifts included travel pillows, travel toothbrushes (you can never have too many) and safety instruction cards.
Going through security with 23 people was hectic at best. While some fantastic employees opened new lines for us, some things they just couldn’t look beyond. While the saying goes- a Scout is never without his knife, there are some instances this should be avoided, such as: Carry-on luggage (I would like to point out this was an adult, not a youth member). Glares in his direction. (Kevin would like to point out it wasn’t him…process of elimination, anyone?) We also learn from each other very quickly. Watching Dawn go through security first, we discovered our Scout belts set off the alarm and whoosh! All the belts came off. Thanks for taking one for the team, Dawn.

Yours in Scouting,
Three Extremely Tired Rovers

Once upon a time…

...A group of 23 youth and adults met at Camp Samac in Oshawa, Ontario to start the journey of a lifetime. Being a diverse group of individuals, from BC to Nova Scotia, they didn't know what they were getting into... and still don't. Coming together for four days, the camp had two goals: to get to know each other, and to cover the Discovery Phase of the Scouts of the World Award- each of which was a giant success.

We were warned travelling to South Africa had a number of risks and concerns for which we had to be prepared. Some of these preparations started months before by obtaining vaccinations, while others, including dehydration and lack of fibber to more serious risks associated with personal security, were covered in great detail at pre-camp. While the risks can be great, the security measures we have taken have reassured us and we are confident as a team in the environment we’ll be in.

If you have any questions, please comment below and we will try our hardest to answer them- timing and internet connection permitting. So please follow along on our epic adventure and we hope you have as much fun reading as we have doing.

Yours In Scouting,
Defending Mafikeng Contingent

Introduction

This blog will be a constantly updated account of the efforts of a group of youth and adults from Scouts Canada and their work in Welkom, Free State Province, South Africa.  The group is composed of youth aged 14-26 and adults from BC to Nova Scotia.  Check back often to stay up to date with their latest challenges and accomplishments as they work to help achieve the first of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations - to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger - by installing rainwater reservoirs at local public schools to help irrigate community gardens and provide a continuous source of fresh water.


Never knew this type of international opportunity was available through Scouting?  Why not check out the website to learn more at www.scouts.ca