Rotary Club of Kampala Sunshine takes boys’ mentorship to schools, slums

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For years, different stakeholders have come up with campaigns to empower the girl child, leaving the boy child to navigate through life challenges on his own.

It is against this background that the Rotary Club of Kampala Sunshine launched The Boy Child Mentorship program in partnership with the Church of Uganda (COU) which also runs a project dubbed; ‘Boys to Men’. 

Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu spearheaded it and Engineer Ronald Kibuuka is the coordinator.

On Thursday, October 12, a team of 10 Rotarians and representatives from Church of Uganda spent the afternoon at Marta orphanage secondary school located in Mukono district. 

They engaged over 100 male students in talks and activities aimed at empowering them to be confident, hardworking, respectful, focused, and boys of high integrity.

The Rotarians included a lawyer, accountant, doctor, marketer, Superintendent of Police, and entrepreneur. They grouped the students and engaged them on topics ranging from the identity of a man, to his responsibilities, and manhood.

The students shared horrific family experiences of how they were abandoned by their fathers and are living either with single mothers or with relatives.

Others are orphans and self-sustaining in school. They work during holidays to raise their school fees. 

The speakers counselled the students to be resilient, hardworking, and disciplined in order to transform their lives for a better future.

Retired Reverand Paul Nsubuga from Buikwe district shared his intriguing life journey with the students, saying he was the only son of his parents and they provided for him but he misbehaved and ended up dropping out of school after his primary level.

However, he later on repented and entered church ministry after which he married and was blessed with nine children; seven boys and two girls. 

Reverand Nsubuga implored the students to avoid bad peers, fear God, and focus on their studies if they want to make it in life. He also reminded them that men are supposed to be heads, not tails.

“You should work hard to avoid depending on women,” he warned.

Rotarian Jeff Ssekandi, the president-elect of Rotary Club of Kampala Sunshine urged the students to forgive their fathers in order to receive God’s blessings. 

Relatedly, Joan Asiimwe the project director said the Boy Child mentorship program is under the District Governor’s project called the Boy Child-Uplifting Program (BCUP), which aims at mentoring and empowering boys into responsible citizens.

She observed that girl-child empowerment has thrust women into powerful positions across the spectrum. On the flipside, boys have been left to find their way and in the end, many have dropped out of school and become drug addicts. This has led to domestic violence and family breakdown.

“We resolved to be the voice of the boy child. We find them in schools and focus on mindset change. We will also engage those in Naguru slum,” she says adding; “We keep mentoring and counselling them. Many have been through traumatic experiences and need help to navigate life.”

Asiimwe adds that during the mentorship, they remind the boys that God created them in His own image and he purposed them to be family heads, not tails. Therefore, they should not drop the leadership mantle.

Joan Asiimwe, the project director said the Boy child mentorship program is under the District 9213 Governor’s project called Boy Child-Uplifting program (BCUP),which aims at mentoring and empowering boys into responsible citizens.