220 Kits, 138 Hours, One Mission: Serving Students in Kenya

For Barbara of Troop 681 in Basel, Switzerland, Scouting has always been about trying new things, serving others, and making a difference. This year, Barbara joined the Transatlantic Council Henry Legarre Eagle Scout Class of 2026 making history as the first girl to join Troop 681 and earn the Eagle Scout rank.

Barbara discovered Scouting by watching her brother take part in the activities she wanted to experience herself. After spending two years in Girl Scouts, she joined Scouting America as soon as girls were welcomed into the Scouts BSA advancement program. For her Eagle Scout service project, Barbara found a way to combine her passion for service with a long-standing connection between her high school and a partner school in Kenya. Barbara led a project benefiting Petal Girls High School in Naivasha, Kenya , where she and her volunteer team created 220 personal first aid kits and six large first aid kits for the school and its students.

The project began with fundraising. Barbara organized an effort at her high school, the Hebel Gymnasium in Germany, where students volunteered their time to help raise money for the project. The funds were used to purchase supplies for the personal first aid kits. The project also received valuable support from the Novartis Medical Center, which donated additional first aid supplies. With the purchased and donated materials in hand, Barbara brought together fellow Scouts and friends to assemble the kits. But Barbara wanted the project to be about more than simply providing supplies. She and her team also created instruction sheets and videos explaining how to use the items included in the first aid kits. This gave students the knowledge and confidence to make effective use of the resources they received.

The project required 138 hours of service, involving fundraising, coordinating donations, organizing supplies, assembling the kits, and developing educational materials. The impact of Barbara’s work was made especially meaningful when Petal Girls High School recently distributed the personal first aid kits to its students and presented the instructional videos created as part of her Eagle Scout project. For Barbara, seeing the project reach the students it was designed to serve was a rewarding conclusion to months of planning and service.

Her project also demonstrates the reach of Scouting in the Transatlantic Council. From a Scout in Switzerland to a school in Kenya, Barbara’s Eagle Scout project connected communities across Europe and Africa while giving students practical resources that can help them care for themselves and others.