Boys To Men

The Boys To Men camp is a church project that came about as a response to the overwhelming need that many South African boys face for father figures in their lives.
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Since 2010, this project has been providing tools to churches to host theme-based camps for young boys at a crucial stage in their lives, with the aim of breaking the cycle of fatherlessness in our society. Founder of the camp, George Mwaura, highlights how the camp goes beyond fatherhood - “Recently we’ve focused on God-centred masculinity which relates to the big issue of Gender Based Violence in our society, and much more.”

IMPACT DATA

It is estimated that 2.13 million children in South Africa are effectively fatherless, and 9 million grow-up without fathers present in their homes, a tremendous fatherhood challenge for the country.

In a report released in February 2021, StatsSA revealed that most "children in South Africa live in non-standard family structures with mostly one of their biological parents.” Among the various population groups in South Africa, only 31.7% of Black children are raised with their biological fathers at home. This is compared to compared to 51.3% coloured children, 86.1% Indian or Asian children and 80.2% of white children. Generally on Boys 2 Men the camps it is found that 75% of the boys come from homes with no fathers and 15% of the remaining 25% come from homes with absent fathers.

INGREDIENTS:

To replicate this project your church will need:

• A community comprising young boys needing mentorship;
• A lead volunteer with the necessary credentials and experience;
• Volunteer helpers who can be trained;
• An equipped and secure camping facility within close proximity
• The ability to gather the necessary resources including transportation, food and recreational equipment;

METHOD:

Steps to run this project,

1. Contact the Boys to Men Project and receive training tools.
2. Recruit a lead volunteer and team;
3. Facilitate training of all helpers;
4. Secure the use of a suitable camping ground in the local area.
5. Recruit camp participants;
6. Plan and execute the camp programme.
7. Follow up with ongoing friendship and pastoral support for camp attendees.