29th Durban has it's home in Umbilo at 421 Frere Road, and is one of 6 groups in the Greater Durban District of the
Kwa Zulu Natal Area in South Africa.
Our Scout Group is 75 years old in October 2007.
In our seventy five years we are proud to have had many Springbok Scouts.
The Scout Troop operates on a locally adapted system of peer group Scouting.
The concept is that the older Scouts operate on a more adventure based system than the younger Scouts.
It is merely making very practical use of the skills offered in the training programme.
The importance of the younger scouts seeing real proof in the older scout of what they can strive for, really motivates them.
The Pack meets at Langmead Scout Hall 421 Frere Road, Umbilo on : Fridays 17h30 - 19h30
The Troop meets at Langmead Scout Hall 421 Frere Road, Umbilo on : Fridays 19h30 - 21h30
Group Scouter : Lynton Cloete - Stork (Woodbadge)
Troop Scouter : Michael Lemon - Medic (Woodbadge)
Assistant Troop Scouter : Mickey Chasomeris (Woodbadge)
Assistant Troop Scouter : Samuel Pool (Woodbadge)
Assistant : Calvin Pool
The Troop has a number of young members, however it prides itself in having a number of Springbok / Top Award Scouts to date.
The Troop has two Patrols: Kudus and Impalas
The Troop makes use of the Patrol System
The traditional Court of Honour has been replaced by the Patrol Leader's Council.
The Troop prides itself in a strong sense of tradition.
The Group's colours are yellow and green. When a Cub or Scout receives his or her scarf, he or she is told that the three points of the scarf have a special significance, each representing an aspect of the promise they have made.
The apex of the scarf represents Duty to God, while the two end points represent the Promise and the Law, and it is to be noted that these points are repeated in the three petals of the Fleur-de-lis of the world Scout badge which is now worn on the shirt left pocket.
In the Scout Troop, during early training, the boys and girls are told of the relationship between the three parts of the badge and the three fingers of the Scout salute, and how these, in turn, relate to the Scout Promise.
1. Duty to God and Country.
2. Help to others.
3. Obedience to the Scout Law. If we look deeper into this "Three in One" significance, we can come to the realisation that, as Scouts and Cubs, our Duty to God must relate to the "Three in One" Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and when making this Promise to do our Duty to God; we accept this Trinity.
Needless to say this applies very much to our own Scout Group, 29th Durban, which is a Christian Group, made up of people who profess the Christian faith. It is therefore important that we take our promise of doing our Duty to God very seriously, and as a reminder of this, let us remember the "Threes", the points of the scarf, the petals of the Scout Badge, the fingers of the Scout salute and, above all, the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We considered the significance of the "Three" symbolism in Scouting, and how it related to our Duty to God. We are now going to take a closer look at the Scout Badge, and in particular the stars which are in the outer petals of the Fleur-de-lis.
If you look closely you will see that each of the stars has five points, giving a total of ten points in all, and ten is a very important number, both in our Scouting and in our Duty to God.
Firstly, in Scouting, the ten points remind us of the ten parts of the Scout Law, which; as you know; can easily be remembered in the little rhyme:
Trusty, Loyal, Helpful, Brotherly, Courteous Kind, Obedient, Smiling and Thrifty, Pure in Body and Mind.
Now, if you take this power of ten into our Duty to God, you will be reminded of the Book of Exodus and chapter twenty of that book, where we find the Commandments given by God to Moses, and how many commandments did God give - Ten.
It has been said that we can directly relate our Scout Law to the Ten Commandments, and if we strive to keep the Law we will be more able to keep the Commandments.
Seldom, if ever, do we really appreciate the wisdom of our Founder, Lord Baden-Powell in the way in which he formulated the Scout Promise and Law.
He did not strive to ram home a strict set of rules relating to our Duty to God, but rather, by giving us the Scout Law and promise, he made it possible for us to have our own code of ideals, based on our honour, and which if followed to the best of our ability would help us Keep our Promise of doing our Duty to God, and thereby become better people and better Christians.
Let us therefore, in future, bear in mind the significance of the "Three" and "Ten" and strive to live up to the messages they give us.