Written by Engel Masana, SSA Youth Influencer Limpopo
Savhanna Cowden is an 11-year-old girl from Polokwane in the Limpopo Region. In 2021 she was one of the Cubs from the 1st Polokwane Scout Group to receive her Leaping Wolf from Chief Commissioner Gary Pienaar.
When talking to her I discovered a young girl whose confidence and drive is inspiring! “I felt so happy and appreciated when I got my Leaping Wolf Award,” says Savhanna smiling. “I joined Scouting a few years back when I was 8 years old. Since then I have learnt a lot of things. I know how to tie knots and use ropes and I also learnt to survive in the wild. I feel that my communication skills have improved by talking and being around other people during Cub activities. I can work better in a team than I could before. I think it’s important in Scouting to always take advantage of opportunities and have fun.”
As an adventurous person, Savhanna was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic when events and activities had to be either postponed or cancelled. “It wasn’t easy to do my Leaping Wolf with Covid regulations but I did it step by step. Some of the activities I did to get this award is the water challenge where I learnt more about the challenges that certain people encounter. I also learnt how to do knots and made my own knotting board. One of my personal challenges was doing the Magoebaskloof canopy tour where I had to face my fears … height!”
My communication skills improved by being around others during Cub activities.
Savhanna has big future plans in Scouting. “My goal is to grow the Scouting community by recruiting other people. I aim to do this by showing them the fun I have in Scouting. I also want to get my Springbok Award!”
She is clearly a young girl that is willing and ready to tackle all the challenges that come her way both in and outside of Scouting. Her advice to other Cubs is: “Take opportunities and do all the activities whilst having fun.” To her peers outside of the Movement her message is clear “Please join Scouts! It’s the most amazing thing you will ever do!”
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