Message by Sandile Tshabalala, Chairperson of the Board #heritageday

When Lord Robert Baden-Powell said “the most worthwhile thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others” he referred to a culture of friendliness, care and openness to humanity that should permeate in Scouting. Today, we live in a world troubled by conflict, political instability, disasters and unethical leadership. Our differences as people in society, has caused significant moral degradation instead of uniting us in our diversity. My early memory of experiencing the beauty of culture was when I attended a BP Camp as a Cub and we were given a task to participate in a singing competition but in our mother tongue. The BP Camp in Mpumalanga, I had imagined we would all sing in Siswati, but I was so surprised when other Cubs sang in Tsonga, Ndebele and English. Each of group brought the pride of their culture into the competition without any sense of shame. That’s why this memory stands, because it was an early impression of my understanding of culture and its relevance to different contexts that you can come as you are, it matters.

We initially all could have sang in one language but different songs, we all sang in different languages and chose a variety of songs to express our cultures. As a Cub, learning about the importance of culture gave me the confidence to be proud of where I came from and to be cognisant of other people’s culture; never to suppress, judge or limit it but to see strength in that diversity either in song, food, clothing, language, and beliefs.

Today, most cultures are under threat due to the complexities of globalisation, but this should not be the case if we knew how to embrace difference and see beyond cultural dominance. Rather, to see that our communities are unique because of cultural diversities and our role as Scouts is to ensure that harmony is not absent. We each have the responsibility to express our cultural heritage in a way that gives us pride, unshakeable confidence and zeal for unity. No heritage is better than the other, because all cultures are context specific and have a role to play in social cohesion.

So, as we celebrate Heritage Day; let us remember those before us who have utilised their energy, skills and effort to usher a cultural way to giving us a variety of heritage pathways that we can lean on for wisdom, direction and mutual understanding. As Lord Robert Baden-Powell affirms “the real way to gain happiness is to give it to others.” Let us remain selfless, helpful and mindful of the needs of others always as it is through serving and service to our communities that we gain an identity of belonging and being truly caring leaders of our time. May happiness locate you today!