Jars of hope have become a popular way for 1 st Claremont to involve the cubs in ‘giving
back’ on a day when many South Africans do the same in their communities. We had fancy
labels and everything! We spent some time discussing what Mandela Day is about and why
it’s an event in SA. The jars went to The Hope Exchange in Roeland Street again, where they
are always received with gratitude. That’s how we started the term and it only got better.
A joint meeting with Constantia Naruna Cub Pack had the cubs in stitches while they blew
huge bubbles using dye, some special chemicals and plastic bottles. 1 st and Naruna have a
special bond after trying to dye each other also!
Over time we have tried to instill a sense of ceremony during the opening and closing Grand
Howl. This means getting cubs to stand respectfully (for just ten seconds!), making sure
shirts are tucked in and hats and jackets are off, and to observe the proceedings quietly in
stillness. On 01 August, which is also Scout Scarf Day, we ran a programme on the Cub
Promise and Law, and cubs spent the whole programme in their sixes. The point is to get
cubs to think about how we can live the Cub Promise in our daily lives, and how this would
look (age-appropriately of course!).
Quite a lot of time was spent on the Cub Archaeology badge – two and a half programmes
later the cubs can tell us what this big word means, what someone who is an archaeologist
does, about artefacts and about 10 amazing World Heritage Sites in our very own country,
which they all now want to go and visit. They got to walk around a ‘museum’ and learn
about a few historical artefacts, discover an artefact for themselves by ‘digging’ for one and
listened to a real live marine archaeologist, who gave us a fascinating talk on his chosen
profession and patiently answered about a million questions from our enthusiastic cub pack.
They loved him even more when he gave them Zoo biscuits at the end! Well done to those
cubs who have achieved their badge.
And we ended the term on such a high note with a Heritage Day programme, where the
cubs created excellent entertaining skits using an object associated with our heritage (e.g.
an SA rugby T-shirt). We could actually hear the cubs this time!
Special mention about our very own Neema Galetta, the first member of Scouting to have
gone through Meerkats and Cubs and who has just gone up to Scouts. Go check out the
write-up about his journey. Proud Scout moment!
For more entertainment, read the article on our very successful sleepover as well as that of
the District Campfire.
Here’s to the last term in 2025! Thank you to our cubs, who make every Friday evening so
much fun, and to our dedicated team of leaders!
