Scholar shines with Springbok Scouts award

Kingsway High School matric pupil, Kelly-Ann Heath (18) has been awarded Springbok colours for Scouts. The Springbok Scout is the highest award in South African Scouting. The Kingsway High pupil is one of only 13 Scouts in KZN to have achieved this award in 2017 and one of only seven so far this year.

As Scouts progress towards their Springbok colours, they have to plan and execute a camp, various activities, a hike, construction and service project, a discussion and earn badges in a variety of categories including the compulsory first aid, mapping and backwoodsman, and a choice from an approved list.

Kelly-Ann chose to do guide, handyman and scribe, and she had to do a lot of work to achieve this top award. All her projects for her Springbok colours were successful. These included a Springbok camp at Dulwich Farm, a ‘proudly South African meal’ which she hosted, a Swinging Derek construction project, a discussion on mutual respect, focussing on religion in scouting, a community service project at Mother of Peace where she painted murals, and finally a hike to Spectacle Cave.

Once Kelly-Ann had completed all the requirements for the top award, she had to present herself at a district interview, followed by a regional panel interview to present the logbooks for the discussion and evaluation. These were all evaluated against a strict set of guidelines to determine whether she was indeed worthy of the award.

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She had to answer questions on the understanding of scouting as an education for life, how scouting developed her spiritually, mentally, socially and physically, the challenges and how she overcame those while working towards the award and a myriad others that assessed her ability.

This award was no easy feat and it took a lot of planning, time management, commitment and dedication over and above her school and extra-mural commitments.

Kelly-Ann was born in Pietermaritzburg and has lived in Toti for 10 years. She joined Scouts in 2011 “through mutual friends who were attending Cubs. I enjoy helping others, you learn life skills not taught at school and what to be cautious for in everyday life.”

In 2010 she was Cub of the year; in 2012 was awarded her Leaping Wolf (the highest achievement in Cubs); in 2016 she attended the patrol leaders training unit for 10 days at Lexdon in Pietermaritzburg; and in 2016 and 2017 she was the 1st Amanzimtoti Scout of the year.

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Congratulating Kelly-Ann on her success, chairman of the national Scout programme, Nimmy Abrahams said: “Kelly-Ann is a motivated young lady who rises to the challenges, who managed to juggle her scouting, school and sport activities very well. She is a very good example to her peers in scouting and is dedicated to all she attempts to do. Kelly-Ann is a candidate worthy of the top award. She has shown perseverance in her road to Springbok by excelling in her areas of interest.”

She is Kingsway’s first team waterpolo captain, first team soccer vice-captain, second team hockey vice and a prefect. “I would like to continue with scouting. There is nothing more rewarding than giving back to the community and those in need. I have taken the Scout Promise and will continue to honour it by doing my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to help others at all times and to obey the Scout Law.”