Grooming a boy child to become a better man

PHOLA – The Phola Youth Desk hosted a Boys Mentorship Campaign at Makause Technical School, in the eMalahleni Local Municipality, on May 23, 2025.

The campaign brought together key stakeholders including Khulisa Social Solutions, LOLA, the Department of Correctional Services, Blue Mining, the Ndzundza Royal House, Ndzundza-Soghudge Royal House, the Pastors Forum, and SAPS. Its aim was to guide and support young boys in making positive life choices.

The initiative encouraged boys to steer clear of substance abuse, focus on education, and respect the rights of others within the school environment. With the ongoing national concern over gender-based violence, the campaign stressed the importance of grooming boys to become responsible men.

The campaign also challenged Phola boys to improve their school performance and to set personal goals, by exposing them to various career opportunities available in South Africa. The Youth Desk hopes to plant seeds of ambition in these boys, enabling them to grow into well-rounded men—capable providers, responsible citizens, and future role models in their communities.

Mkhuba Themba from the Pastors Forum said, “Empowering the individual means creating a society where boys can make choices in life based on their own abilities, preferences and circumstances.” He added that by defending and fighting for the rights of the boy child, society would, in essence, be saving an entire generation.

“Boys aren’t like girls—one must find a better way to help them open up. These young boys are sometimes victims of abuse, yet they don’t know how to speak about their struggles. We must pay attention to their feelings. We also need to educate parents and promote the positive socialisation of children to enable all young people to build relationships rooted in reciprocity and equality,” said Themba.

Eli Matji from Blue Mining echoed these sentiments, emphasising that boys aged between 12 and 18 need to be groomed early. “Most of the time, we neglect the boy child and focus only on the girl child. Boys only get attention when they start misbehaving,” he said. “We wait until they get into trouble before giving them support. Apart from that, boys are naturally curious—they want to try things out by doing them.”

The event marked a meaningful step towards creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for young boys in Phola.