Written by Madita Bünnecke
Given that 2018 is the year in which we celebrate 100 years of Rovering, of empowering youth to be the best they can be, we could not let #YouthMonth go by without sharing some stories from our Rovers. Craig van der Bank from Benoni in Gauteng is a Product Manager in the IT Industry. Despite his busy schedule he still finds the time to be the Rover Scouter for the Phoenix Rover Crew.
“I joined the Scouting Movement as a Cub at the age of seven. When my time as a Scout came to an end I stayed in the Movement and joined the Rovers because I saw the great things that the Rovers were doing for our district Scouting activities”, he tells us. “They always looked like they were enjoying what they were doing whilst helping out. Rovers gives our youth the opportunity to grow further within the Scouting principles. It allows young members of our society to experience adventures as adults and to learn from those”, he says. “Some of my personal favorites were Pop Bolton, SARSI in Durban and the Rover Moot in Gauteng.”
When it comes to community service Craig and his Rovers have been working hard. “As the Phoenix Rover Crew we assisted the Boksburg Rotaract in building a portable library for the Manzemba village in Northern Limpopo. The project was established to support the Legacy Giving Aftercare and Mentoring Centre (LGAMC). They even published an article about this great work!”, he tells us. “I feel that communities have improved greatly because of Rovering. On one side the service projects support the local community, on the other side the Rover programme offers the growth of youth in both urban and rural areas in South Africa. I hope that Rovers in a hundred years will remember that we achieved yet another 100 years of growing the youth into responsible and valuable citizens of our country”, Craig says.
“Another very special thing about Rovering is that you can meet a whole variety of people from all walks of life from all across the country and they have all a common, underlying drive to give back. Be that giving back to Scouting or giving back to various communities. There are great adventures waiting for our young adults out there. They just have to leave all the malls and indoors behind them, open their eyes and embrace all the experiences Rovering is able to provide for them! Rovering has the ability to change mind sets, lives and communities in South Africa.”
“If I had only 30 seconds to describe Rovering I would say that Rovering is a branch of the world wide Scouting Movement, aimed here in South Africa at youth between the ages of 18 to 35. It is a great opportunity to meet new people,while allowing young adults to grow through fun and adventure. The experiences in Rovering will provide them with life long memories and great stories for years to come while allowing the Rover Crew to work towards bettering themselves and the community. It gives the chance to grow with like-minded people, who enjoy having fun and giving back through the projects and activities the Crew is involved in. Being of Service becomes an adventure, not a boring task you feel obliged to do!”