By Bheki Sithole

My name is Bheki Sithole, and I am 28 years old. I live in a small township called Kamhlushwa in Mpumalanga, between the borders of Swaziland and Mozambique. I grew up living with my brother, his wife and his son in a one room shack as my dad passed away when I was 6 years old. When I was 12 my brother was jobless for about two years, the only way to survive was through the grant of my brother’s son.

I joined Scouting in 2001. By then I was a young boy starting to explore life and that is when Scouting became my life. It became a part of my life, that guided me on what is right and wrong in life, also taught me how to handle my life. There were programmes such as gardening to help Scouts like me to have food at home through selling the vegetables we planted. At weekends, other Scout parents contributed clothing for me and took me for a weekend visit their homes to have delicious meals and some free time apart from home.

When I was 18 years old I discovered that my mom lived ten kilometers away from my place and that made me very angry after all the suffering I went through. I see the SCOUTS as my right parent and guidance that never brought me down for so long. Through Scouting I had the opportunity to take part in many different workshops that improved my knowledge and skills. I finished my matric at school and the Scouts offered me a job as a field officer. That was my chance.

I would like to give a special thank to SCOUTS South Africa Mpumalanga for helping me to be who I am today. Now I’m one of the well known and respected persons in my community that makes me very happy. Through Scouting I achieved what I wanted.