INFLUENCER LEADS LIGHT CAMPAIGN

IN AN effort to address the scourge of gender-based violence, a group of young boys will be part of an upliftment programme by The Seed Fund, a community based organisation in Durban north, which has partnered with the Jess Foord Foundation (JFF).

Charlene Steylter, programme organiser and administrator of the Seed Fund, said the mentorship programme, which was being hosted for the first time this year, was aimed at helping boys, especially those who do

not have father figures in their lives.

She said the programme would help to transform young, vulnerable and impressionable minds into proactive and informative people with the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong through education, awareness and support.

“Through this mentorship programme, we want to stop the cycle of violence and abuse. To influence the behaviour positively by exposing the young men to positive role models and creating a change in mindsets of young boys and the way they perceive women and abuse.”

Steytler said eight pre-teens who were selected from the Malacca informal settlement in Redhill would start the programme today and run until January next year.

“Our involvement in the community over the past three and a half years has allowed us to build personal relationships with the families in the informal settlement.

“Through these relationships we have been able to identify eight boys who are at an influential age. Some of them are the eldest child in the family and take on the role of a father, even at a young age,” said Steytler.

She said the mentorship programme included a three-day camp which introduced a leadership-orientated programme and ensured the message of 'no means no' was carried into the future.

Sbusiso Mthethwa, JFF awareness coach and mentorship coordinator, said the foundation which was started by rape survivor Jess Foord, who became a victim in 2008, has seen many women of all ages reaching out for help.

After driving a successful awareness project, the foundation decided to start up an upliftment programme in 2016 which focuses mainly on young boys.

Mthethwa explained that the programme selected mentors who showed signs of maturity, had good values and who resided within the community.

“Through our selection process we look for a person who is keen in uplifting the community and bringing it forward.

'“As an organisation we believe that by working with the community we can stop the trend of people being rapists, hence, we started focusing on young boys aged between 10 to 13.

“The foundation realised that disadvantaged communities often do not have father figures as role models and that was the core issue, therefore, opted to train young men as mentors to play a role to the young generation,” he said.

He said the programme would run for a year and thereafter the mentors would provide advice to the young boys and continue the journey with them throughout their livelihood.

Siyabulela Dela, 27, chosen to mentor the eight selected young boys said he was delighted to be part of an initiative that would bring change to society.

“To my surprise Charlene had told me about the programme and I was keen in helping out where I can.

“Too often we see young children, especially in informal settlements, turn to drugs and alcohol and even worse, to criminal behaviours because they don't have anyone to guide them.

“A number of homes in this settlement are headed by mothers which makes it difficult for a boy child to have a conversation with a woman, that is where I come in,” said Dela.