Youth engagement has been prioritized as part of the Associations strategic plan 2021-2023 and with the desire to use leadership as a Tool for Change, the Kenya Scouts Association in partnership with the Africa Support Centre organized an International leadership training for Scouts county youth leaders from the 9th to 12th of September 2021.
The aim of the training was to leverage on the young people unique leadership capabilities so as to enable them lead their respective county youth effectively.
The participants also had an opportunity to interact with like-minded young leaders from diverse backgrounds and forge ways on how to add value to the organizations, leverage on relationships, connections, and interpersonal interactions established to help drive growth of the youth in their counties and develop personalized development plans that will help them identify their strengths and guide them towards achieving their goals.
“The Association will continue offering such skills training to it’s young people as it is our believe that young people should be in the forefront of implementing change”, said Mr
Moses Danda the National Executive Commissioner at the Association adding that it is through positive change that we create a better world.
“I have learnt how to explore my core values and traits to become an effective leader”, said Sheldon Marumbu the newly elected National youth representative. This will go along way invenhancing my leadership skills further
especially now that I represent every young Scout in the country he added. The training took place at Rowallan National
Scouts Camp facilitated by trainers from the Association and the Africa Support Centre.
Newly elected officials have taken office at the Association following recently held elections for national positions. These include Sheldon Marumbu and Mercy Mulwa who have been elected as National Youth Leaders. Their new role will include chairing meetings of the National Youth Forum and the National Youth Committee and fostering effective youth involvement in the Association. Elizabeth Nyaberi was elected to represent the youth in the National Scout Board. The newly elected Chair is Mr Apok Emacar Abraham with Mr David Olenanyoike and Mr George Wagaya being elected to represent the Administration and Training Teams at the National Scout Board.
The Chief Commissioner Mr Victor Radidowelcomed the new team and urged them to”work for the Scouts of this country”, and ensurethe “Scout programme is effectively deliveredfor the benefit of the young people in theMovement”.
Left: Elizabeth Nyaberi, Sheldon Marumbu and MercyMulwa
Jane D. Hull is quoted as stating that at the end of the day, the most overwhelming keyto a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.
Parenting is of no doubt tough in this age and time. Rick Capaldi a family the rapist,Ph.D. and Co-Founder and President at Outreach Concern states that today, many adolescents, college-bound young adults ,and graduates evidence being unarmed with skillsets and coping mechanisms to deal effectively with the challenges that come their way.
For this reason parents need to provide direction.
While this is a given fact, Scouting will remain one of the best ways to mould
young people both physically and psychologically.
It helps in building the character of our children in their formative years. I call it the lowest level of ‘disciplined forces’ as it entails basic training on handling different and difficult situations.
Scouting is fun with a purpose and complements the school core curriculum by developing self knowledge and the need to explore and to discover the world beyond the classroom while tapping the skills learnt in class.
Through the principles of Scouting, which is a simple code of living to which all Scouts make a personal commitment through the Scout Promise and Law, your child gets to understand their duty to God, others and self. They do this by taking part in activities indoors and outdoors, learning by doing, sharing in spiritual reflection, taking responsibility for choices made, and undertaking new and challenging activities.
Scout leaders are co-parents to every Scout and this is an added advantage to parenting in the 21st century as they assist the parenting recognizing the challenges and opportunities children face early and assist in redirect the child’s behavior.
We exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, and hence physical violence, hazing, bullying, theft, verbal insults, and drugs and alcohol have no place in a Scout’s life.
I urge every parent to allow their child to join Scouting and join the rest of the parents in Scouting as they
attest to the benefits of the Scout programme to
their children which, puts them at ease when it comes to the choices their children make in regards to their present and future.
Under the Scouts Supporting Menstrual Hygiene initiative, Brain Agaziva a rover Scout from Kibra slums in Nairobi county is making a difference in young adolescent girls lives across the country by donating to them much needed sanitary towels.
Over the years Agaziva witnessed members of his community and by extension his own household miss days of school due to their menstruation cycles.
When managing their menstruation, many young women are forced to turn to unhealthy alternatives involving the use of rags, which increase the risks of infection due to the lack of basic facilities.
“Growing up my sisters could miss out on school on certain days of the month and had to use rags for pads due to financial difficulties at home and this broke my heart”, he said and when Iearned my first few shillings from my first job of selling insurance covers, I took it upon myself to purchase sanitary towels for my siblings and students of my former primary school in Kibra just to make school bearable for them during their cycles he added.
Agaziva, a rover Scout distributing sanitary towels to girls in Inavi Primary School, Mahanga ward Vihiga County.
The Scouts Supporting Menstrual Hygiene initiative seeks to provide sanitary towels to needy girls and women in the society in an effort to equalize the playing field especially when it comes to education states Agaziva.
Agaziva realized that the achievement of SDG number 3 on Good Health and Well-being, SDG 4 on Quality Education, SDG 5 on Gender Equality and SDG 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation can not be realized by ignoring the needs of women and girls during their menstruation cycles hence the initiative.
Indeed Scouting is an action-oriented approach to education and is uniquely designed to equip young people with the competencies to become active global citizens and contribute to positively to their societies.
During the International Day of Peace celebrated on the 21st September 2021,Scouts in Kajiado County in partnership with Kajiado North Peace Committee, Security Committee, Kenya Wild life Service and the Rotary club planted over500 trees as living symbols of peace and hope.
During the event, the guest of honour, the Kajiado County Commissioner Mr Joshua Nkanatha commended the Scouts in the county for taking the lead on issues affecting their community including peace and environmental conservation.
The County Commissioner stated that “Peace is a necessity for a stable society where everyone can enjoy fundamental freedoms and thrive rather than struggle to meet basic needs”, and urged more young people to join the Scout Movement in the country as it advocates for issues that directly affect humanity .
The County Scouts Commissioner Mr Daniel Muthagya appreciated the various like minded partners that have continued to come on board to work with Scouts stating that Scouting exists within a community and hence the need for such collaborations in a bid to make the world a better place for all.
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. The theme for this years celebrations was Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.