Rites of Passage Bridge

        Hello, my name is Xavier Ntamere. I have been in scouting since I was in first grade. I was only 7 years old and was new. Everything was so exciting because it was completely different from anything else I had ever done. I stayed with the program for the next 8 years of my life. 

       I am currently a Sophomore in Shortridge High School and am taking honors classes. I am not only actively involved in scouting but also Cross Country, Swim team, Kappa League, MEPI(Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis), and am aspiring to be a teacher or an engineer after graduating from Howard University. 




         Throughout my time I have served as SPL(Senior Patrol Leader) which is the highest ranking leader in a Boy Scout troop. I have also earned more than 80 merit badges and have put in many hours of service to help my community. I was also inducted into the Order of the Arrow which is a national honor society within the Boy Scouts of America through the Owasippe Lodge. I am currently active with the Jaccos Towne Lodge and I served as vice chief of the Wapsuchuppecatt chapter. I had accepted a position working at a summer camp but unfortunately it got canceled due to the Corona Virus. I was a patrol leader. I failed as the patrol leader but through that failure I learned what I did wrong and did a better job when I took the position of SPL. 





         Now I am in Boy Scouts and working on the highest rank which is known as 'Eagle Scout'. I am currently working on my Eagle Project for the rank which requires me to lead, guide and direct people to work together and build or manage a project.




         I hold dual membership in both troop 534 (Hey!!) of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Chicago Illinois and troop 199 of new Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of Indianapolis Indiana. These are both of my scout masters, from left to right, Mr. Banks and Mr. Campbell. They both helped me more than anyone else on my scouting adventure.




         My idea is to build a bridge but I can't do that without your support. I plan on raising this 2,500 dollars so that I can build this bridge and achieve the highest rank in Boy Scouts. I want to build a bridge because scouting helped to cultivate my interest in engineering so this is my way of giving back to that. The name of my bridge is Rites of Passage Bridge because it represents the Rites of passage that I am accomplishing by obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout and also the Rites of Passage that many Black youth have had taken away from them due to police brutality. This is why I plan on constructing something to honor the many lives that have been lost which will most likely be a plaque with the specific design to be determined in honor of Black Lives Matter. So I would really appreciate your help as it means I would achieve that dream even sooner.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Update-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

           Due to unforeseen circumstances my Eagle Project will be moved to another location. This is largely due to the denial of permission to support or represent Black Lives Matter in any way. Thankfully the park where the bridge was supposed to be built was supportive. It is due to policies of the city of Indianapolis that this project will not be able to be constructed on public property which means I will be moving it to a private location in the near future. I hope I still have all of your support through these difficult times. Thank you for your understanding and your support.