Written by Mfundo Jiyane, SSA Youth Influencer GT

Jemma Reinecke from the 8th St Albans Scout Troop in Pretoria was recently awarded her Springbok Scout Award!  She joined 8th St Albans Pretoria as a Cub, and remained in the Movement as a Scout. As part of her duties as a Scout she also helped the younger members of the Scout Group, as a Troop leader.

Jemma managed to successfully juggle her Scouting activities, her Springbok requirements and her schooling throughout 2020 and 2021, navigating life during a pandemic, while preparing to write her matric finals. I spoke to her about the community service project she completed as part of the Springbok Award requirements.

“For my 40-hour long community service project 8th Pretoria St Albans Scout Troop partnered with St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) to build furniture for Itireleng and Lefofa Primary Schools in Hammanskraal. We built 40 mini ottoman-style seats to be used in classrooms. They each received 20 each. To build one mini ottoman we needed 7 EcoBricks.  An EcoBrick is a plastic bottle packed tightly with non-biodegradable waste that is then used to build sustainable homes, schools and furniture”, explains Jemma.

“I had planned to supervise the making of the ottoman chairs at the Scout Hall in March/April 2020. However due to the Covid-19 lockdown it was not possible for a group of Scouts to get together and work together, so I had to adjust my plan so that the Scouts could make the chairs at their homes with me showing them how to make the chairs online. In the months that followed – with lockdown still in effect – I collected EcoBricks from Scouts, Rovers, St Mary’s DSG and members of the public. This required several trips to Randburg, Midrand, Centurion and Brooklyn. In total I must have sorted through over 1500 EcoBricks, as not all Ecobricks were the correct weight (660g) and others were filled with dirty plastic (plasters, earbuds, chicken bones etc) and had to be thrown away. This time was not included in my hours for my community project”, she says.

“On the 12th of August 2020 the Scouts started working on my project. I then had a group virtual session to explain to the Scouts how to make an ottoman base from the Eco Bricks. This was followed by individual virtual sessions as well. On the 22nd of August we had our first face-to-face (all Covid-safety protocols observed) working session at the Scout Hall to cut the foam and build 20 seat cushions. The Scouts were so happy to see each other in person again. On the 5th of September we had a working session to cut the material for the slip covers for the ottoman chairs and a few days later we met again so the Scouts could start sewing the covers. In a follow up session we assembled the foam seats for the ottoman chairs and put the slip covers on. On 22 October we handed over the ottomans to the two primary schools in Hammanskraal. Representatives from Endangered Wildlife Trust, St Mary’s DSG, and Bakwena attended the handover ceremony”, she explains with a smile.

“The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is a South African environmental organisation for the conservation of threatened species and ecosystems in Southern Africa. I engaged with them on the EcoBrick initiative. The aim of the EcoBrick project is to develop communities and reduce our plastic waste. It was designed to benefit a number of communities, but the focus in this project were the two schools in Hammanskraal, just North of Pretoria.
At Itireleng Primary School has approximately 814 learners served by 18 teachers, with a student teacher.  EWT had used Ecobricks to build boundary walls to demarcate vegetable gardens, play areas, out of bounds zones and so on. At Lefofa Primary School school has approximately 896 learners served by 22 teachers, with a student teacher ratio of 41:. Previously Ecobricks were used for benches for children to sit on and areas to contain topsoil for the vegetable gardens. I have always admired the work done by Endangered Wildlife Trust and when I saw the work they were doing with Ecobricks in the Hammanskraal Community, I immediately thought about using EcoBricks in my Springbok Scout Community Project to continue some of this work”, she adds.

” It took us 60,5 hours to make the ottoman seats. There is an old saying – “It takes a village to raise a child”, well I can now say that it takes many Scouters, Scouts and a bigger community to complete a Scout Springbok community project! It is always an amazing feeling to help people. I have been involved in community service for most of my schooling career and it has always been something that I enjoy doing. As a Scout who is in a fortunate position to help others who need it the most, I see no reason why I should not do my best to help them”, she says.

For Jemma Scouting is her happy place, so she is going to continue her Scouting journey as an Assistant Troop Scouter. “I have already got my Scout name ‘Lechwe'”, continues Jemma with a smile. “I also joined the Prophecy Rover Crew and look forward to my own journey of growth there too.”  Jemma has applied to study veterinary science at the University of Pretoria in 2023 and is currently volunteering at the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation in Hoedspruit.