A group of Scouts in Troop 160 traveled to Nairobi to attend the Camp Kenya 2024 program from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, participating in many adventure activities and learning new Scouting skills.
Camp Kenya was open to all youth and adults registered in a Scouts BSA Troop. A Scout parent from Troop 160 is from Kenya and found out about the opportunity, prompting them to share it back to the troop. Namith Gangireddyvari, 19, and Nishanth Gangireddyvari, 15, were two Scouts who participated in the camp.
“This is such an organized activity that everyone gets to have some levels of fun with it,” Namith said.
The troop participated in the Kilele camp program, which featured hiking, abseiling, rafting, a safari and many other teambuilding activities. Namith said the best part of the trip was the safari, while Nishanth said his favorite was the rafting.
There were two safari trips, morning and night. The two Scouts said they were able to see animals such as lions, hippos, rhinos, hyenas and buffalos. The morning safari featured a tour at Ol Pejeta Conservancy where Scouts saw a chimpanzee conservatory and a blind Rhino.
“It was pretty fun, I would love to do it again,” Nishanth said.
The camp also featured a backpacking hike with abseiling. They hiked up Mt. Kiambicho and stayed there overnight in tents. Both Scouts said they experienced challenges such as running out of water, not enough space in backpacks, and the hot weather.
“It was pretty challenging for people who aren’t used to backpacking and then people who had minimal water,” Namith said. “So, we also learned how to ration water pretty well.”
The Scouts also participated in a conservation project by going to Lord Robert Baden-Powell’s memorial, who was the founder of the Boy Scouts and its first Chief Scout. The project consisted of cleaning his grave and doing yard work. Troop 160 also interacted with the Kenyan Scouts who participated in the project as well.
Namith said there were a few differences in the Kenya Scouting program. Scouts in Kenya are not done at 18, but can continue to be a Scout at their university’s troop. He also said their flag ceremony was very different, specifically the way they held the flag.
“I’d say it’s more ceremonial the way they carry themselves,” Namith said.
Overall, Scouts from Troop 160 were able to learn new skills such as leadership, friendship and teamwork, as well as interacting with new cultures during their time in Kenya.
Yoi further honored Jacob by dedicating his Eagle Scout project to building a Memorial bike rack and repair station at Winston Churchill High School, the high school they both attended. This would reflect Jacob’s love for riding his bike and the high school since Jacob was the mascot for the Winston Churchill Bulldogs, causing people not to love him because he was the Bulldog but love the Bulldog because he was Jacob Cassell. These reasons solidified Yoi’s decision to make the high school the perfect place for the memorial.
To start his Eagle Project, he went to former Principal Heckert to get approval for the project, but once she left, he had to get approval from Mr. Taylor, who was coincidentally the principal of Yoi’s middle school. After his approval, he was sent to the PTSA to discuss funding. After going back and forth between the PTSA and the school, Yoi created a GoFundMe for his project, reaching the proposed $7,500 goal within 48 hours and ending with $9,333 from over 120 donors. After another back and forth with the county about where the building site would be and waiting for the county to collect bids for the project, the finish line was finally in sight for Yoi.
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