SKOUERSKURE
The 61 Mech Veterans Association realised from the start the importance of getting our veterans together in a small safe space where they can reconnect, engage with each other, rekindle old and forge new friendships.
These get-togethers are known as skouerskure (shoulder rubs), and are not exclusively for 61 Mech veterans only. Military veterans from any other military veterans organisations are welcome to attend a skouerskuur facilitated by the 61 Mech Veterans Association. In fact, Mike Beyl who used to host the skouerskure on the West Rand at one stage had a Russian military veteran who served in Angola as an interpreter during the Border War, as a guest at a skouerskuur.
This sense of inclusivity has its roots in the nature of 61 Mech Battalion as an integrated forces where mechanised infantry, armour and artillery seamlessly formed one new formidable force, with the other services like the signallers, engineers, MOT infantry, support staff
The families of our 61 Mech veterans are not left behind. The wives, girlfriends, children and grandchildren are encouraged to attend the skouerskure with their 61 Mech veterans, and many families have benefited from this interaction where they are included.
The Moth is an important partner of the 61 Mech Veterans Association with its skouerskuur activities. This engagement started when one of our members joined the Casa Mia shell hole in Centurion where Koos Moorcroft was the Old Bill at the time, where the first 61 Mech Veterans Association skouerskuur was held. The Moth has the infrastructure with braai facilities and a cash bar, and we encourage our members to become part of their local shell holes too. Many a 61 Mech Veteran joined the Moth too and became Old Bills of their shell holes.
However, the facilitator and members of each skouerskuur in the different towns and cities decide for themselves which is the best venue to host their skouerskuur.
The main purpose of the skouerskuur remains to create a space where our 61 Mech veterans can, from the connection, growing friendship and interaction between them, find the freedom to open their hearts about any issue or matter they were not able to talk about before, and put the ghosts from the past to bed.
This is also why we want our skouerskuur facilitators to attend Dr Roelf Schoeman’s Storms of Life course which deals with everyday issues we must face in our daily lives like facing reality, processing your losses, understanding and processing your emotions, forgiveness and shaping your life according to God’s plan. These topics are issues which many of our veterans, who may have avoided it up to now, have to face now that they reached retirement age, and we want to help them find the right answers. If we find that there veterans who need more assistance than this, we have a network of professionals available to give such support.
These skouerskure are established in towns and cities over all the provinces, depending on the number of veterans living in those areas.