Factsheet 0 0` SCOUTS South Africa 2014 1 1. Who is SCOUTS South Africa SCOUTS South Africa is an independent, non-profit educational movement dedicated to the development of young people in achieving their full potential as individuals and responsible citizens. Central in this programme is a continuous transference of values such as honesty, loyalty, responsibility, respect; all aimed at governing individual behaviour and the development of strong leadership skills that will equip members to be of service to others and to their communities. 2. Organisational background Organisation name: SCOUTS South Africa (previously South African Scout Association) NPO Registration: 019-215-NPO BEE contributor: Level Four B-BBEE Management: Chief Scout Reverend Vukile Mehana CEO Amelia Siebrits National Office SCOUTS South Africa Physical Address: Riverside Mall, Cnr Main & Belmont Road, Rondebosch 7700, Cape Town P.O. Box: 374 Newlands 7745, Cape Town Telephone: +27 (0)21 685 84 20 Email: [email protected] Website: www.scouting.org.za Regional Offices in 8 provinces to cater for a national membership National membership of approx. 70 000 members, mainly in rural and impoverished areas. 3. History and development programmes SSA was established in 1908. It has been a non-political organisation since its inception. The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and to play a constructive role in society. The training in leadership and exposure to the environment that the movement provides young people, further enhances our role in the new society. Scouting in South Africa is sensitive to the needs of the country and provides a meaningful community incentive to meet these real needs and challenges by: providing life skills; building a moral base and discipline in individuals; buidling leadership skills and a spirit of teamwork; supporting community development; 2 encouraging food production; promoting the protection of the environment; and promoting health (e.g. HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programme). SSA follows a non-formal education system, which is based on self advancement and outcomes- based education in a fun environment. All youths (boys and girls) aged from seven to eighteen can take part in the activities of the organisation in their region. Members aged eighteen to thirty, can then further progress into the SSA young adult development programme. As a member of SSA children, youths and young adults also get opportunities in which to expand their horizons, gain new experiences and represent their communities and country as a whole. National events and international jamborees are such platforms. SSA is a member of the World Organisation of Scout Movements (“WOSM”) which united over 32 million youths globally. 4. Our Programmes and Projects Our comprehensive non-formal educational programmes are based on a unique method of progressive self-education and commitment to a simple code of living by making a Promise and Law. “Learning by doing” is the natural way for children and young people to learn new skills. In Scouting, this takes place through result-driven, hands-on activities where Scouts can later evaluate what they have learnt. Learning by doing is far more meaningful, memorable, and long lasting and it deepens the understanding of concepts and mastering of practical skills. Our youth training programme is an advancement system where Scouts are allowed to progress at their own pace. It allows for experiential learning and contributes to their personal development. Cub, Scouts and Rovers acquire Advancement Badges as part of their journey. By learning new skills and forming lasting friendships through the Scout programme, generations of Scouts have grown up to become some of our nation’s most outstanding leaders! Membership is open to all boys and girls irrespective of their race or religious beliefs in the following age groups: • Cubs 7 – 10 • Scouts 11 – 17 • Rovers 18 – 30 Our Adult leaders are all volunteers. Many were Scouts themselves or parents of Scouts, but anyone is welcome to join our Movement. All Adult Leaders and volunteers receive comprehensive training. We recognise that in order to provide a good and thorough service to our children and youths we need to make sure that our adults are educated and have the skills and resources needed to ensure the adventure of the lifetime! In addition to our programme we provide a number of award winning topic related projects for our Scouts to take ownership of. The projects range from health related peer education to environmental climate change and recycling initiatives, to leadership and life skills development projects. Often these themed projects are developed in partnership with other civil society or corporate partners. 3 5. Success Stories Testimonies: Over the years many children and youths have joined SSA and grown up to be leaders in their communities, have become the first person in their family to go to university and are succeful professionally and privately. Here are two of SSA’s many success stories to give you a glimpse of how being a Scout impacted the lives of these youths. The story of Lawrence from Guguletu in the Western Cape . “It all started when I was 7 years old. Back then I was known to be a bit of a rebel so the boys in my street didn’t think the Scouts was a place for me. I was too naughty. But I was determined to join and the adult leader saw my determination and gave me a chance. At that point he changed my life forever! Scouting has played a great role in my life. It made me who I am today. It kept me out of the streets and out of trouble. If I look at some guys of my age, they steal and rob. I can see that as children they lacked the guidance and leadership I found here at the Scouts. I am now able to serve and help people with confidence and integrity. I try to give back and share the skills I’ve learnt, so when the Scouts in my troop go home they have learnt that “if we work as a team we achieve great heights, and if we do this in our community too, we can all be successful. That for me, is the power of Scouting!” Lawrence 4 As mentioned above there are Scout Troops active all over South Africa. This is Ronnie’s story. He lives in Limpopo and is currently a university student at the University of Tshwane. “Before I joined the Scouts I was somehow like a terrible young man. I was the kind of person who liked swearing at other people. I was a person who liked going out to the streets with my friends during the night and we’d mock everyone who passed by and laugh at them regardless of their gender or age. Lying was always on the tip of my tongue. If I did anything wrong at home and my parents would try to rectify my mistakes, I would get angry with everyone and go away and come back when they are sleeping. I was very short tempered and not very friendly to other people. I and my friends had taken to beating other children as a very fashionable style and we would beat them up for no good reason. The worst thing about me is that I was a great gambling animal. I would steal any of my parent’s cents and rob out their change when they would send me to stores or shops so I could gamble with the money. I would play dice with older people. The older people who were my friends would force me to drink alcohol and have many girl friends, so I did, because I wanted to be with them because they gave me money to gamble with if I didn't have any. So Scouts has changed my life completely as I am away from these hectic things I was doing in the past. I’m no longer fooling around with my old friends, Scouts has made me have good friends. I am glad I’m away from those bad things because the only thing that was left was for me was to start smoking and start dying from AIDS, as I was already drinking. “ Ronny Sekwela 17yrs SSA also offers training in specific health fields such as for example HIV Prevention. SSA introduced the HIV/AIDS programme in 2002 and had an external evaluation done to assess the effectiveness of the programme in 2008. The following was said by the consultant: “The Scouts HIV project is a well-designed and effectively implemented package of HIV prevention interventions. Extensive use of adult volunteers has made the project very cost-effective. It is probable that the project has had a positive impact on behaviour change in the target group, resulting in a reduction of HIV transmission. The Scouts programme is unusual in that it presents knowledge about HIV in the context of a supporting system of values, life purpose, group norms and identity. Young people gain a strong sense of belonging and identity from their participation in a Scout troop. This exerts positive peer pressure. Younger Scouts generally have a high regard for their patrol and troop leaders. It is from these trusted sources that they repeatedly receive messages about positive masculinity, gender sensitivity, human rights and behaviours which protect them against the risk of HIV infection. This is underpinned by an appeal to the higher values and norms embodied in the Scout Law and Promise to which they repeatedly subscribe.