BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
55 South African men across the country are currently serving as vital mentors for 250 boys who are growing up without their fathers. This band of everyday heroes are volunteers for The Character Company (TCC), a non-profit organisation that has been implementing a mentorship programme for the past nine years.
Founder and Director of TCC, Jaco van Schalkwyk says, “Our goal is to turn the tide against the violence in South African culture by helping to raise boys to be good men through our activity-based programme. Our strength is our incredible team of mentors who make a solid commitment to the boys they mentor and embody the values and good character we aim to inspire in them.”
It is estimated that 70% of South African children are growing up in single-parent homes, and 4 out of 5 boys do not have a consistent, positive male role model in their lives. Broken masculinity is associated with the country’s high rates of gender-based violence, crime, gangsterism, substance abuse and other mental disorders.
Five years ago, Thando Malepe was ministering to a group of children in Ivory Park when he was introduced to TCC. He says, “I fell in love with the work that The Character Company does and relate to it because I grew up without my father or any other positive male role model in my own life. At that time, I was concerned as I saw that we were losing our boys to Isikhothane, gang groups and substance abuse. TCC gave me an opportunity and a platform to enrol the boys I was working with under their MENtorship programme.
Through TCC, Thando has mentored over 20 boys, reliably meeting with his small group once a week as well as taking them on night walks, fireside get togethers and camps. Personally, he has found belonging in a community of men where ongoing learning from other men is prioritised and the challenges of masculinity in today’s world are openly discussed.
He says, “There are many rewarding aspects of being a TCC MENtor, an important one being the opportunity to have a space as a man to share your life struggles freely. We are supported by our senior MENtors, referred as Regional Characters, and your walk your own journey as Christian man of character with a mentor by your side. In this community of men who are not afraid to be vulnerable, we share the same interest in seeing our boys growing up to become better MEN, to make our country and world a better place to live in. Through my teachability, I have learned so much over these years and I have grown to be a better man myself, a better father, and MENtor.”
Image: Instagram
