A Cub does a good turn to others each day. A promise that 10 year old Matthew Kenyon-Wimbush took to heart when he decided to give back to a local place of safety and to the fire victims in Knysna in the Western Cape. His efforts didn’t go unnoticed and he was recently declared a Lead SA Hero for June 2017.
Matthew joined the 1st Claremont Cub Pack when he was eight years old after his mom realised that he had a penchant for building traps and constructions. “I was a Brownie and his dad was a Scout, so when I saw he liked to build it made sense to introduce him to Cubbing,” explains his mother Kathryn. “I really enjoy camping, learning how to build things using ropes and poles and mostly exploring our big Western Cape adventure center Hawequas”, he says with a smile. “At a recent camp we saw a huge termite hill!”
Matthew sits across from me with his framed “Lead SA Hero” certificate. He is gleaming when he says “This award is given to people who earn it by helping to make the world a better place. I am really happy to know that I made a difference. It all started a while back when my mom introduced me to a local charity called “Little Brinks”. Little Brinks is a place of safety for children who need a safe place to live for a while. So I collected books, toys and clothes for children there. Then after the fires destroyed peoples’ homes in Knysna my teacher Ms Calothi, showed a video of burnt out buildings and I knew I had to do something. I had heard that the Western Cape Scouts had started a collection and were arranging transport for supplies for Knysna and my mom agreed to let our home be a drop off point for those who wanted to donate, but could only deliver after working hours. The amount of stuff people brought was amazing! My Pack Scouter gave a stove, friends, neighbours and other people from Scouting dropped off bags and bags of clothes, toys, food, a kennel, doggy blankets, etc. Our kitchen was so packed that I couldn’t even get to the fridge or the bin!
Our Regional Scouting team arranged that the items were collected and delivered free of charge by Stuttafords Vanlines.” he concludes.
“We are all very proud of Matthew”, says mum Kathryn. “I don’t think he realised how important it is to have this title. For him it is about the deed not the reward and he is happy to have helped. We are also very grateful to all who donated!”
When asked whereto from here he just shrugs his shoulders and says “I will continue to support Little Brinks and would also like to help an animal welfare charity. What I would really like is to have a dog that I was able to rescue.” When Matthew grows up he plans on living in a home with a huge yard and a big tree so he can build a tree-house!