KENYA: Catholic Nun Wins Wood Badge Award, Advocates Evangelization Through Scouting
Sr. Mechtilda Okello
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As the Church seeks to evangelize to the young people, scouting is one of the ways to go, Sr. Mechtilda Okello, honouree of Wood Badge Beads Award narrates after receiving the award at Baden Powell Historical Grounds in Nyeri Archdiocese, Kenya.
The award that originated in South Africa as the ceremonial necklace of Zulu Chief Dinizulu consists of two wooden beads worn at the end of a leather thong and is internationally recognized for honoring adult scout leaders in their scouting role and upon completion of relevant quality training on scouting knowledge.
The member of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA) congregation, who has been a scouting enthusiast with a lifelong passion since childhood narrates that the Church can grab the scouting opportunity to bring the young people closer to God.
“The Church can revive this movement in our schools and among the youth by registering open troops within the Church and considering the movement as one of the groups for young people like the Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC), Alter Servers or Catholic Young adults (CYA),” Sr. Okello shared with AMECEA Online in an interview Friday, March 8, weeks after receiving the award.
According to the Kenya nun serving at Lwak Girls’ Primary and Junior Secondary School in Kisumu Archdiocese, as the Scout Leader in charge of training and guiding the young Scouts, “Scouting is holistic and accommodates young people of all ages.”
She recounts her early childhood while growing up and attending Church services at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kariobangi North, Nairobi Archdiocese where the parish had a scout troop they used to call “Scout ya Kanisa” (scout for the Church) saying, “It was a well-organized Scout group which could play vital roles in the church like flag raising during ceremonies, tree planting, environmental cleanliness, among others.”
This gives Sr. Okello who doubles as the accountant of the school, the conviction that young people who are passionate about the movement, adventurous, and full of energy can give back to the Church through their selfless formation and constructive growth and eventually be dedicated Christians in the Church.
The Wood Badge Beads Award received by Sr. Okello who has been training and guiding the young scouts at Lwak Girls Primary and Junior Secondary she says, “Is an inspiration and has reinforced my commitment and support for the vision of the scouting movement.”
She pledges to motivate Religious men and women working with young people to develop interest in the movement so that through them many young generations can be reached.
“There are many ways of evangelizing to young people and scouting is just one of the fun ways of moulding our youth to grow physically, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and socially,” she stated adding that, “youths have a lot of energy which can be tapped into constructive development ways.”
According to the nun, “Scouting in the Church seeks to evangelize to the young people who have the potential to make a change in their lives and the lives of others through living a morally upright life and being the light and salt of the earth.” Besides, “scouting seeks to instill the value of service to the young minds including service to God, to the country, and to all people.”
Over the years, she has impacted scouting knowledge and mentored pupils by empowering them “to grow up as good citizens who are God-fearing and ready to play a constructive role in serving God, our Country, and the people of God.”
Asked what might have qualified her to receive the award, the Kenyan nun passionate about character development of young people attributes the award to hard work, resilience, and determination.
Through this remarkable ceremony, Lwak Girls Primary and Junior Secondary School has been promoted and now registered as an Air Scout Unit.
Air Scouts are Scouts with a particular emphasis on aviation-based activities. While they undergo the same basic program and training as normal Scouts the Air Scouts get training on a variety of potential air activities.
