When the Scouters from the 1st Stintile Scout Group went around the Stintile Secondary School to introduce Scouting to Grade 8 learners, Precious Nkosi’s life changed forever. “The Scouters went class by class and introduced the Scout programme to my class. My friends and I just fell in love with it and decided to join.” Today Precious is a Rover and the Mpumalanga Regional Young Leader’s Representative.
“Scouting brings positivity to people’s lives. It certainly ensures that you’re surrounded by positive peers at all times. This not only helps in improving a positive attitude towards one’s-self and our surroundings but also creates a positive and healthy environment for one to help develop their skills, find their happy places and also promotes good health especially for people who hardly find time to rest and have fun apart from when in Scouting”, she explains. “I definitely am a changed person because Scouting taught me communication skills, leadership skills, having fun, having a creative mindset and above all learning how to think outside the box and stepping out of my comfort zone. Some of my best memories are definitely the first summer camp in 2017 where I could say I was living the dream of being outdoors, being one with nature and learning a few survival tricks. More recently, I was part of a group of 8 Mpumalanga Rovers and Scouters that travelled overseas to attend the Equimenia summer camp in Sweden. I had a lot of first time experiences and met a lot of wonderful people, learnt a lot about the Swedish culture and brought part of their culture back home and practiced it during the recent summer camp”, she says excitedly.
Equimenia summer camp Sweden 2024
“There have been challenging activities in Scouting too. During the PLTU training in 2019, I had been failing all the challenges on a daily basis and almost gave up 2 days before the training ended. I then decided to think outside of the box and tackle the obstacles my way. I ended up completing all the challenges on the last day of training! I surprised myself, my teammates, and definitely the trainer. It taught me that with determination, thinking outside of the box and having positive teammates, everything is possible!”
As the Regional Young Leader’s Representative, Precious has big plans to grow her Region. “I aim to improve the communication skills of the youth and leaders through various activities such as skills building workshops, team-building activities and many more activities. Scouting gives young people the opportunity to build their leadership skills through positions like Patrol Leaders, Troop Leaders, Camp Chiefs and more, which helps in building their confidence and leadership skills. Often young people fear taking on leadership roles because of self-doubt and also because some positions are not advertised to a large enough audience. Being able to lead helps in building confidence in themselves and improve in communication, leadership, problem solving and teamworking abilities. It also helps prepare them for future roles in other businesses where they can put their skills into practice.
When not in Scouting, Precious is either buried in studies, novels, or movies. “I am a full time online student at UNISA doing a 3 year diploma in Law. I’m not much of an extrovert so I’m mostly at home”, she explains with a smile. “Scouting has taught me to think outside of the box, not to be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and value teamwork. It is all about having fun and creating memories. It’s the break you need from real life, and a platform to make and keep family and friends. Since joining SCOUTS South Africa, I don’t only have friends, but I have a family. Although most of them are now in different varsities. I know that for as long as Scouting lives, the family will grow every day. One thing is for sure though, I never travel, Scout or live without God by my side.”