Written by Christian Reimers and Jula Wolf
Nagelah Peterson is 20 years old and joined the Western Cape Scouting-in-Schools (SiS) programme as an Intern Leader earlier this year. She was assigned to run Cub Packs at Levana Primary, Hillwood Primary and Zerilda Park Primary, 3 schools in the Lavender Hill Community.
“I had heard of Scouting of before and thought that it was about fun, camping, hiking and singing around the fire”, she explains. “When I joined the SiS programme I found out that Scouting is much more than that. It is very disciplined and interesting. It builds children’s confidence and makes them good leaders.”
Nagelah’s childhood is what motivated her to join the after-school SiS programme. “When I grew up there were not a lot activities going on. How I grew up made me want to make it better for other children by having programmes like Scouting. Sometimes this is really challenging because of the gangsterism in the areas we live in and where the schools are based. This is the reason that the number of children that attend our meetings will be great one week, and then the next week it won’t.”
Being a SiS intern also means that she gets to experience what Scouting is all about. “Having to travel from one place to another in an area I do not know, swimming in the pool, hiking up the mountain were just some of the things I have experienced so far. I heard about the Scouting-in-Schools programme through a lady in my community and since then Scouting is part of my life. I use the Scout values every day in my basic life. I have to lead by example when I volunteer and play sports with the kids in my area or when I hang out with my family.”
When her internship comes to an end she wants to study but plans to stay connected to Scouting. ”I will still volunteer whenever I can”, she says.” I will study but will still be part of Scouting by helping with the Cub Pack at my host Group 1st Steenberg. I want to continue to be part of something bigger where I can influence and have a positive impact on the lives that it involves.”
If Nagelah could have a super power it would be “Problem solver”. “As a problem solver I could solve all the problems in the world!”
To read fellow SiS-intern Badronesa Solomons’ story, click HERE.
#scoutssouthafrica #ScoutingInSchools #AfterSchoolGameChanger #WesternCapeGovernment #WomensMonth #EmpoweringWomen #volunteer #Skills4Life #ScoutsMakingThingsHappen
