Scouts association launches re-set approach
Maureen Odubeng | Monday December 13, 2021 06:00
The launch, was graced by the Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Anna Mokgethi and other dignitaries. Botswana Scouts has put the country on the map by becoming the second country in the world to have scouts recruit and train a full primary school starting from Standard One up to Standard Seven, school head, teachers, non-teaching staff and security guards enrolled in scout to RE-SET the Discipline and character building.
Speaking during the launch, the association’s Chief Scout, Leader Trainer Ezekiel Malenya explained that the scout movement is a cradle for character formation, mentorship, and also a leading organisation in skills-based-transformative education and character formation for the young in Botswana and the world at large. “We have scout leaders who are trained at different cadres in Scouting. We value safety of all children under our care. Towards this end we further train our scout leaders on how to keep all our scouts from harm. We also screen all the scout leaders and ensure that those eventually selected to lead are of impeccable character.
In scouting, we also ensure that we do not push the boys and girls into moulds that are created assuming that all the children have similar interests, skills, and proficiencies. Scouts choose areas of interest for them and those that impact on their growth, that of the community and Botswana at large. As you may be already aware, scouting uses a value-based system. These values are imbued into the scouts as they grow in scouting through different scouting levels,” Malenya explained.
#Malenya congratulated the management of Dikwididi Primary School for making scouting a way of life in their school. “This school realised how important scouting is in character formation. They did not wish that this becomes a preserve of only the few boys and girls in the scout troop. They extended it to all students. They had their teachers trained as scout leaders. By so doing, they have entered the annals of scouting history for being the second All-Scouts School in the world. We hope the ministries concerned with education and youth in the country will support other schools to reach where Dikwididi Primary School is today. We in Botswana Scouts Association are ready to provide the training, support and mentorship required,” he said in closing.
The guest of honour minister Mokgethi said it is her hope that young boys and girls around the country will benefit greatly from the re-set approach. “Scouts have demonstrated their capability when it comes to discipline; we know their efforts of discipline and study camps across the country has borne fruits to schools like Masha College in Kang. I would like to appreciate the leadership for their vision. Not long ago Botswana Scouts Association was honoured as second in the world on growth and youth development behind Kenya,” Mokgethi noted.