Mentorship for boy child empowerment

By Sihlobo Bulala

Mentorship is increasingly becoming recognized as a vital strategy for supporting boys and men in communities, especially amid ongoing mental health concerns affecting this demographic.

Community based organizations like Umuntu Trust and Emhlane Kamama have partnered on their first upcoming boy’s mentorship workshop, highlighting the positive impacts the approach has on personal development, education, and mental well-being.

“We saw it as a starting point for fulfilling our objectives in nurturing responsible men. In IsiNdebele, we say ‘isigogo sigoqwa sisemanzi’, which emphasizes the importance of shaping a person’s character and instilling good values in their formative years,” said Sakhile Mpofu, Umuntu Trust Founder and Professional Counsellor.

Some of the biggest challenges affecting boys and men that have been shared by boy’s empowerment advocates include societal expectations, broken families, mental health stigma, economic hardship, peer pressure, neglect, and overburdened support systems.

“As an organization working with the boy child, we have seen a lot of challenges amongst them including mental health where they are told that they have to be tough, they should not cry, and that emotionally destroys them. Secondly, the boy child also faces physical abuse, especially from step mothers, step fathers, parents, and aunties. All basic issues that a girl child faces, a boy child faces as well, it’s only that a boy child won’t say anything,” said Precious Faith Ngwenya, Founder of Emhlane Kamama.

The concept behind mentorship programs is rooted in the fundamental principle that a path already taken holds valuable lessons for those who follow it.

“One of the challenges tied to problems boys and men face has to do with absent fathers, either from birth or through death or divorce. Sometimes, they’re physically present but emotionally, socially, and financially absent, leading to young men lacking well-rounded father figures to look up to and model, lacking someone of the same gender to open up and confide in. The idea behind the mentorship workshop is that there is someone who has walked the road, they know what is ahead, it could be mistakes, traps, or consequences for which they have lessons to provide for. Therefore, mentorship acts as a guiding hand to make the journey of life easier,” Mpofu added.

Mental health advocate, Disrael Israel shared that mentorship is a powerful tool because it gives boys positive role models to look up to, helping them navigate life’s challenges and showing them how to handle emotions in a healthy way.

“Mentorship can break the cycle of unhealthy emotional expression and teach boys practical skills to manage their feelings. In a mentorship program, boys can learn from their mentors and from each other in a supportive environment,” he said, further advising that a good mentorship program for boys should be consistent, supportive, and relatable to have a lasting impact.

“It should focus on listening, empathy, and emotional intelligence, creating a safe space where they can be vulnerable without fear of judgment,” he advised.

The collaborating partners have highlighted that there is a need for stakeholders to devise efforts that can cater to the welfare of boys, also emphasizing the need to raise more awareness on empowering the boy child.

“The judicial system should cater for boys as well as they are also victims of gender based violence. Many boys and men are suffering as there is a lot of stigma around the issue. We would also like to work with religious institutions as we notice that religion is a major influence in social behaviour and may play a positive role in empowering boys,” added Mpofu.

Reflecting on a primary school textbook which was recently circulating in social media with text describing boys as strong, not emotional, independent, Israel highlighted that people often think boys don’t need emotional support or are less emotionally intelligent than girls, which isn’t true as boys need emotional guidance and care as much as girls do.

“The education system needs to be challenged and teach children a different gospel about the boy child. Schools, mental health groups, and community centres should work together to create programs that teach boys about emotions, leadership, and mental health. The government and NGOs like Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) can team up with schools to add emotional awareness and personal growth to the curriculum. Partnering with men’s groups and experts in male mental health can provide resources for mentorship programs, creating safe spaces where boys can discuss their feelings and identity without being judged,” he added.

The boy’s mentorship workshop to be conducted by Umuntu Trust in collaboration with Emhlane Kamama is set to occur on the 12th of April in Bulawayo. For registering and more information, you can click here.