Scout swaps Ballachulish for Nairobi
A YOUNG scout leader from Ballachulish is getting set for a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to Kenya.
Fifteen-year-old Dawn Beaton has been accepted to take part in a three-week expedition to Kenya in July.
The expedition is being organised by Highlands and Islands Scouts and includes volunteering at an after-school project in the slums of Nairobi and spending seven days educating girls on health and other areas in a Masai village. On the lighter side, it also includes hiking up Mount Kenya and visiting a national park.
Dawn, a pupil at Kinlochleven High School and a young leader in the Scouting Movement, joined the Scouts in 2012 when the 4th Lochaber Scout group was restarted in Ballachulish by volunteers.
Deborah Fyfe, leader at the Scout group said: ‘The purpose of the expedition is to promote the physical, intellectual, social and spiritual development of young people in achieving their full potential as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.’
The Rotary Club is donating £500 towards Dawn’s overall costs of £1,750.
Rotary Club president Donald McCorkindale said: ‘Dawn’s expedition, and its benefits to communities in Kenya, aligns exactly with the ethos of Rotary and we were unanimous in our decision to award her a Rotary grant.’
An excited Dawn expressed her thanks to the Rotary Club and added: ‘I’m most looking forward to climbing Mount Kenya and living as a local in a traditional Masai village. It will be good to visit Nairobi National Park where we will see lots of animals. We will be working with schoolchildren and helping empower young girls through the Amuka Foundation.’
Dawn is actively fundraising to achieve her target of £1,750 and has set up a Facebook page ‘Dawn’s Kenya Expedition’.