Cape Argus E-dition

Fresh air – and a fresh take on how to be men

SIYABONGA KALIPA siyabonga.kalipa@inl.co.za

A YOUTH organisation in Langa took young men hiking in Newlands Forest in an effort to teach them about gender-based violence (GBV).

Qula Kwedini Youth Organisation is an organisation that creates a sober space for young men and boys to confront and challenge the behaviour that men enact and also reflect on their past experiences.

The young men came from different townships across Cape Town.

Founder Sisa Nobanda said the key element of the hike was to address the issue of GBV.

“To confront the fact that we are the face of violence even in our communities, we wanted them to understand the role of a man in the community,” he said.

He said while hiking, they had different topics they discussed in different spots.

Nobanda said they talked about GBV, what could be the cause, and how can one avoid being in an abusive relationship where they end up being the abuser.

He said they discussed topics such as what makes a man, the use of the daily oral pill that is used to prevent HIV and the contraceptives used by their partners so they could be more informed and take action in making sure that their partners are on contraceptives to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

“As an organisation we felt, for them to reason, we needed to take them out of the township out of the norm and introduce them to a new lifestyle, hiking, sight-seeing, so they can start to think differently,” said Nobanda.

One of the young men, Sanele Mzwakali, said it had been a great day for him, and it was his first time hiking.

“I got a chance to learn more about gender-based violence and what it means to be a man,” he said.

Mzwakali said he was more interested in the topics about manhood and also prevention.

Mcebisi Ntozinde said, for him, the team behind the hike went beyond his expectations.

“For the organisers to bring social workers was an A-plus for me. I was not expecting that,” he said.

Ntozinde said he learnt a lot and he would forever be grateful for the experience and being part of the hike.

METRO

en-za

2021-09-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281599538633344

African News Agency