BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – The Marydee Esangweni Boys Boot Camp and Festival was a huge success; it saw a large number of people attend.
The second annual boot camp was held on Saturday at Mkhulamini Community (Ekukhanyeni Inkhundla), Manzini Region. The camp was hosted by the Marydee Isibuko Serenity Foundation (MISF).
When reached for comment, the founder and president of MISF, Dudu Dube, shared with this publication that the camp went well. She said, “The camp went very well. We were so humbled to see over 150 men and boys attending the boot camp. Our target was at least 100 men and boys, but the support was huge. We are so grateful to the Mkhulamini community. Men and boys need such platforms to discuss challenges that they are going through and discuss issues of gender-based violence, substance abuse, mental health, and entrepreneurship, amongst many others.”
She went on to add, “We would like to thank all our partners: Georgetown University, Zeal Procurement and Supply Chain Limited, Premier Eswatini, and Alliance Foods-KFC Eswatini, as well as all the individuals who supported us, ambassadors, father figures, the MISF team, the media, and the public at large, for supporting our 2023–2024 Annual Esangweni Boys Boot camp and Festival.”
According to Dube, they were also joined by women and girls in the afternoon who attended the festival. Lutsango and Sibhaca entertained the audience in the afternoon. There was a soccer match as well.
The camp, according to its founder, was to tackle and address the high number of gender-based violence (GBV) cases that the country continues to experience. The annual event brings together boys who are 11 to 25 years old, big brother ambassadors (above 26 years old), and father figures under one roof for a dialogue on “Growing up as a Boy Child.
Dube shared that the big brother ambassadors and father figures tacked various topics, including GBV and sexual abuse, social challenges that boys are going through, drugs and alcohol abuse, entrepreneurship, bullying, HIV/AIDS, and mental health issues.
The mentorship programme seeks to:
- Provide a safe, supportive space for boys aged 11–25 years old.
- Contribute towards achieving gender equality and transformative and sustainable social change that harness all efforts towards ending GBV.
- Mentoring boys and raising responsible boys who are not afraid to express their emotions, control their anger (anger management), and evade violence at all levels through coordinated action.
- Provide one-on-one counselling to the boys who are going through challenges.
- Mentor at least 100,000 boys in the 59 constituencies within three years.
