On Sunday, the 21st of July, Scouts and Scouters of the 1st Honeydew Scout Group in Gauteng – in collaboration with the ACT Foundation and local Cosmo City NPO AfterSkoolIsLit – planned and executed a community service soup kitchen for Mandela Day. We spoke to Assistant Troop Scouter Nadia Mansoor about the initiative.
“Together we cooked 65 kilograms of nutritious fresh produce and served 275 hot vegan meals to youth and community members in need of a warm meal. We served a delicious and flavourful vegetable dahl and rice”, explains Nadia.
“After the project we reflected on the value of community service as a hugely important part of being contributing members of society. Firstly, civic participation should not end with elections or an annual Mandela Day! If we want to build a better world for everyone, we need to contribute and work for it with our daily choices 🌍.
Furthermore, engaging with our community helps us to build compassion and understanding for those who have far less access to resources and opportunity. This lack of access is not an individual fault, it is systemic, and it plays a huge role in the endurance of some of our most pressing social and economic challenges. Service projects like these, help to provide immediate relief, set an example, and build a space for grassroots action. But they do require sustainability which is why 1st Honeydew is aiming to do something like this every two or three months. Our Scouts will be included in the planning so they can all learn how to run their own service projects 🔥!
This initiative took roughly 6 hours of planning and 7 hours for execution – a quarter of what may be required for a Springbok community service project! This is all to say to our Scouts, this was not that difficult, and aiming for Springbok should be a reality! When you reach adulthood, all these planning and communication skills are indispensable. So, take the opportunity to practice and build a better world while you have our guidance ⚜️.
But, most importantly, projects like these are never done alone and speak to the importance of a community-based network. We thank ACT Foundation for donating towards the purchase of our groceries, and to AfterSkoolIsLit for their amazing community work and ability to bring 275 people together! And of course, a huge thank you to the 1st Honeydew Troop Scouters and ten Scouts who showed up to make an extraordinary meal.”