When Lolwethu Ndaba first walked into a Scout meeting, she barely said a word. Today, she can proudly say that she is a 1st Gladstone Springbok Scout! Here she reflects on a journey that has taught her about leadership, resilience, service and, perhaps most importantly, herself.

Lolwethu’s Scouting journey began with curiosity. After hearing about Scouting through her church, she attended her first meeting in 2021. What she saw that evening was more than just activities and skills. She saw a group of young people who seemed genuinely connected to one another. “When I think back to my first Scout meeting, I remember how interesting the experience was. The Scouts were doing First Aid and as I observed how everything went, I saw the camaraderie of the other Scouts. That made me want to be part of the Movement, to get out of my shell and make genuine friendships whilst learning valuable life skills. Back then, I was extremely closed off and barely said a word. Nowadays, the trick is getting me to keep quiet because I always have something to talk about,” she says with a giggle. “Scouts really changed me in many ways that I will forever be grateful for. I improved a lot, from my ability to stand in front of a group and speak confidently, all the way to not panicking when things don’t go as planned.”

Thinking back, some of her favourite Scouting moments are those that did not always go as planned. “I have always loved camping and hiking as a Scout because so many memories were made during those times. My favourite memory definitely has to be my first camping experience. It was Ammy’s Springbok Camp and we were out at Rooifontein. It was a Saturday, and the day was progressing normally until evening came and we were suddenly caught off guard by a storm. It literally came out of nowhere because one moment everyone was settling down for the night and the next moment everyone was evacuating into the hotel with their tents and bags. We all slept in the hotel packed up like a tin of sardines. Despite all of that, and my phone getting damaged from being submerged in the rainwater, I decided: ‘Yeah, I’m definitely here to stay!’.

Scouting has also given me moments that have pushed me far outside of my comfort zone. It really taught me a lot about resilience because in life things don’t always go according to plan. The only thing you can do about that is remember that you always have people supporting you, no matter what, and that a slight alteration in your plans is never the end of the world. My Discoverer Hike at Rooifontein in 2023 was definitely one of them. At first, I thought it was going to be okay. I had even used the days leading up to it to mentally prepare myself because it was going to be my first time leading a group alone. The first leg passed with no problem. We got to the Eco centre and rested, but the challenges started when it was time to go back to the gate. At that point, I was tired from walking and I was struggling to manage my Patrol. I wasn’t that good at regulating my emotions at that point, so I stopped walking and I broke down. I really don’t think I would have been able to pull through and finish if it weren’t for my Scouters aunty Isabel and aunty Noleen encouraging me to breathe and keep pushing though because I was almost there. They guided and inspired me to grow and since then I have become much better at managing my Patrol and taking a moment to breathe when things become too much for me. From that experience I now always think of my favourite Scout Law, which says that ‘a Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties’.”

But that is not the only valuable life skill Lolwethu has learned over the years. “Other big skills I have taken from Scouting are time management and being organised. When you are planning camps and hikes, or even just completing advancement tasks, you need to balance all that with your daily life. I really learned how to do that during my Scouting journey and now it has become part of my everyday life.

My understanding of leadership has also changed completely. Before I joined Scouts, I viewed leaders as the intimidating figures of power and control. After I joined Scouts and became a leader myself, I learned that leadership is not about being powerful and in control all the time. It’s about your ability to lead your team with fairness and vulnerability. Being able to show your team that you trust them as much as you want them to trust you, making sure that they feel comfortable voicing their opinions and asking questions, building mutual trust within the team and encouraging everyone to share responsibilities fairly. A team must work as one to achieve their goals. For me, being a good leader means that you have the ability to fall back on your team and admit to uncertainty. As much as it is your responsibility to lead your Patrol or Troop, you are still part of a team. Scouting taught me that just because you are a leader, that does not mean that you must take on everything by yourself. In Scouts, you are never alone because we are all a team and lean on each other when we need the support. That lesson became particularly important during my Springbok journey,” continues Lolwethu.

As she started her Springbok Award journey, her aim was to push herself and to use the skills she had learned to succeed. “I was extremely nervous when it came to my pioneering project, I won’t lie. It was the first time that I had to build something on such a large scale instead of just doing knots or a stretcher using small staves. I kept wondering if my proportions were planned correctly or if the structure would hold. But all those worries disappeared as soon as we started because I realised that I had picked a good team to help me. In the end the structure held and we were so proud of what we achieved. If I compare Lolwethu on that day and Lolwethu from when I first joined, the difference is stark, and I am extremely proud of that growth. My highlight definitely was how calm I was throughout the entire build. It really was a sign of how much I had grown.

I think it is important for young people to do service projects because you get to contribute towards the betterment of the community, even with something as simple as picking up the litter in the area. My Springbok journey also gave me the opportunity to give back. For my community service project I chose to organise soup kitchens so that I could offer my help in feeding those who struggle to get a proper meal every day. I chose it because it always warms my heart to be able to help others and offer them a warm meal,” she explains.

“I also had to complete a 30km hike at Rooifontein. As I learned over the years, things such as hikes and camps rarely ever go according to plan because there are chances of injuries and sudden changes in weather. With my hike, everything was going well until, of course, someone had an injury … and it was me! I had injured my ankle but I didn’t really pay much attention to it because I thought it was just from how long we were walking. I kept telling myself that others were tired, so we had to finish. It was only when we got to the hotel before the last stretch that I could not take it anymore and had to call our Scouter Cheryl who picked us up so they could check my ankle. I ended up on crutches! But, fortunately, we did manage to finish the hike later after I was healed.

My camp was also an important part of my Springbok journey! It was also at Rooifontein and it was a mixed Patrol with Scouts from my Group 1^st Gladstone and a few Scouts from 1^st Isago so they could get the experience of a Springbok Camp and sign off a few of their advancements. That was one of my main goals at camp; to help all the Scouts invited sign off a few advancements they needed to complete. Thankfully, we were able to achieve that goal.

Organising the camp really solidified the fact that Scouting is all about supporting each other as a community. And that is something I think young people need more of today. If I think about the challenges we face as young people, I must admit that our biggest problem as youth is social media. Social media has taken over every aspect of our lives, including myself. This is why I would advise young people to join the Scout Movement. It is an amazing way to tune out all the peer pressure and influences that come with social media. You get to meet people, learn valuable skills and just step away from social media and reset. I think Scouting can help address many challenges young people have. It really is an amazing Movement to be part of, especially for your own development and growth as an individual”, she said thoughtfully.

Looking back, how did achieving her Springbok Award make her feel? “I am extremely proud of myself. It is not only my award but a way to show other young girls out there that it is possible, no matter what kind of other difficulties you are facing in your life. My Scout journey taught me just how much I am capable of. The girl who first walked into Scouts barely saying a word is very different from the person I am today. And I am extremely proud of that growth.”