Today we are celebrating families and what better way to do that than to chat to one of our Scouting families! Clinton and Catherine Barry have grown up in Scouting in KZN and their daughters Abi and Emma are currently living the Scout experience too.
“My joining the Scout Movement was unplanned. We had a sleepover at a friend’s house one Friday and I joined him to his Cub meeting. And, in short, the rest is history!” quips Clinton. Catherine’s Scouting journey was inspired by generations of Scouts, including her father, current KZN RC Garth Kloppenborg. “My Great Grandfather Charles Heath started 1st Escombe Scout Group. I joined the Pack as a Pack Helper while my brother was a Cub. When SCOUTS South Africa opened up for girls, I was invested into the Troop and completed my Springbok Award in 2003. My brother Christopher got his in 2006, while my father Garth got his Springbok and Chief Scout Award at the Group too. My uncle Larry got his Springbok and Chief Scout Award at the 1st Malvern Scout Group.”
“We met through Scouting,” continues Clinton. “We were at different Scout Troops but knew each other as our Troops were in the same District and often had combined events. After we each completed our Springbok Scout journey we moved on to 1st Malvern Rover Crew and that’s probably where our journey together started.” “I was also helping a friend run the Malvern Pack at that stage and became the Pack Scouter for two years. Clinton was in the Crew but was also the ATS in the Troop” adds Catherine.
After growing up in Scouting, both Catherine and Clinton now support youth and adult leader training through the KZN Regional Support team, and Catherine also serves as the 1st Cowies Hill Air Scouts Den Scouter. Over and above their volunteer roles, they are also Scouting parents! “Our daughter Abi has recently joined the Scout Troop at 1st Cowies Hill Air Scouts, after completing her Leaping Wolf. Emma is a Cub with the 1st Cowies Hill Pack and is working on her Leaping Wolf. She joined as a Meerkat and was awarded her Gold Star while in the Den” says Clinton proudly. “I have deliberately limited my role within the Group so I can be involved as a parent. As much as I celebrate Scouters that have their children in the Movement, I’m trying very hard for them to have their own, personal Scouting adventure without being overshadowed by mine.”
Volunteering for Scouting together also creates some special moments. “Having a common set of values has been a wonderful base to work from. For 5 years I had a job that involved a huge volume of international travel with limited time at home in SA. Scouting offered a stable and consistent platform to come back to, and also a stable support system while life was a bit upside-down” continues Clinton. “We’ve been on many PLTU courses together. One of my biggest challenges in Scouting has been that of being a Course Director at Lexden PLTU. It was a huge comfort and security for me to have Catherine on full-time staff managing the catering budget and overseeing critical portfolios. Another highlight was experiencing the KZN Scout Adventure as a family, twice.” “It also fills us with such pride to be invited to Springbok presentations and to keep in contact with the young adults that we have built relationships through PLTU. It is such a privilege and an honour to be invited to such events”, adds Catherine.
There is no guidebook on parenting, but does being an adult leader prepare young adults for parenting? “Sometimes it feels like disaster management training would be more appropriate!” jokes Clinton. “Being close to the people on the ground helps me to keep my own feet grounded. Seeing the growth in the youth is great food for the soul. And, sometimes, there are times that working with other people’s children makes me appreciate my own children that much more! It helps to maintain perspective and keep sight of a bigger picture. Things don’t always go according to plan, but we’ve practiced the need to bounce back and try again. ’Chin up, look ahead, carry on.’. Also, I don’t think that we deliberately decided to raise our children with Scouting values. Rather, these values have been such a big part of our lives that we’ve grown to know them as normal. Our children have been exposed to Scouting since they were born, so they’ve literally grown up being immersed in a Scouting culture.
As a parent and a volunteer, I’m aware of how many of “my events” my children have had to attend. Rather than viewing this as a chore, they have found ways to pass time by making friends, adventuring and exploring, and being inquisitive children. My daughters know Lexden campsite as a second home having spent many nights there while PLTU courses were underway. We’re now at the stage that they’re both actively involved in their own Pack and Troop level experiences and are enjoying their own adventures (without us) as part of a Patrol or Six. It really is the Scout Method in action…”
How about those interest badges that Scouts need to complete at home? “It’s a very special thing to be able to help your children achieve something in an area that we share a passion for. For Abi, the biggest challenge of her Leaping Wolf was to complete the knotting board, and so we paired up and learnt the knots together. It took several frustrating hours for her to learn knots that were very easy for me, but the sense of achievement that she felt when she could make her entire knotting board herself was well worth it. Another example of a combined achievement was the fun that the children felt while picking up litter near our home as part of the “Litter Less 2023” campaign. They chose to clean up a nearby street – Baden-Powell Drive and knew that they were making a difference to our local community.”
Is “Scouting as a family” something that every couple with children should do? “Rather than ‘Scouting AS a family,’ I’d venture that we discuss ‘Scouting IS a family’. We’ve been very blessed to share our experiences with many other Scouts and Scouters that treat us as family, and it’s this type of interaction that reminds us that we’re part of something incredibly special. Being part of a family isn’t always easy. Sometimes you fight with your siblings. Everybody has their own chores and responsibilities that they need to do such that everything can function as needed. It’s sometimes a bit of work to get through the tough bits, but that makes the good parts so much better!
For so many of our youth, the Scout Group is the most stable family structure that they know. To be entrusted by youth to be their guide, their role model, their safe place is an incredibly powerful thing. It’s sometimes too easy for Scouters to underestimate the difference that they are making. They’re providing a beacon of hope for our next generation of amazing South Africans. To all our Scouter families that are willing to share their families with others so that we can all be better – Thank you. We need you”, concludes Clinton.