Highest honour for Scout

The badge is the highest honour in the Boy Scout organisation. Ten-Doeschate joined the Scouts when he was seven years old. “I am honoured to receive the Springbok Badge,” he said. “I have been a Scout for the past 10 years. My family and friends believe being a Scout has taught me to have incredible respect for others and I am very focused in all I do, especially with my schooling. When I finish my matric I want to study chemical engineering.”

He said his best Scout moments included the time he went to hike on the border of Lesotho for three days. “In 2010 and in 2011 I was part of a group that went to hike in Cederburg for over two weeks.”

Marianne Ten-Doeschate, Chad’s mother, said she was proud of her son. “Being a Scout has taught Chad to be committed to whatever he does. As a Scout he has learnt values and morals that he can live by. Parents must support their children’s activities that sharpen their life skills.”

District Commissioner of Scouts for Gauteng Northern District, Don Norris, said Chad had been a great Scout. “Our Halfway House Scout group has 25 Scouts and 20 Cubs. The organisation was started in 1908 by a former British army officer, Lord Robert Baden-Powell. His aim was to teach Boy Scouts life skills such as hiking, camping, first aid, community service and other survival skills. This teaches children values that they can shape their lives around. It is an honour to give the award to Chad, he has been dedicated to everything he has done as a Scout.”

Ten-Doeschate’s fellow Scout, Keenan Varges said, “Chad is awesome, in a few more years time I hope to be standing where he was, receiving the Springbok Badge myself.”