Mt Kenya professionals mentor boys to be better men after circumcision

A group of professionals from the Mt Kenya region is mentoring boys to shun drug abuse, sexual immorality, financial irresponsibility and grow into adults capable of securing their families and the nation.

The group which comprises doctors, politicians, lawyers and other professionals organises camps and counselling forums for boys during holidays and mentors them as they go through circumcision.

Ahadi Kenya CEO Stanley Kamau said there have been rising cases of men engaging in activities that indicate a breakdown of tradition and culture.

“Some men are so lazy they go hunting for sponsors to finance them because they do not want to work. This is unAfrican,” he said. A man should strive to be the provider, he added. 

Boys are also taught to handle women with respect to reduce gender-based violence and solve disputes amicably.

“We want to involve them in the challenges facing the society right now and empower them to handle them better in future,” Kamau said.

Kamau called on more men to come out and mentor boys going through circumcision around the country.

Gordon Mutugi, Mt Kenya Breweries managing director, said the group consists of professionals interested in empowering boys.

The mentorship’s objective, he said, is to familiarise young men with the cultural upbringing of the Agikuyu that will enable them to handle the pitfalls facing youths.

“We want to ensure the current generation of young men is not ensnared into financial irresponsibility, drugs and immorality, and ensuring it is mentored into excellence in their academics, finances and family lives,” he said.

He said the drive does not have boundaries and revolves around the region in a bid to ensure as many young men are reached.

The group recently sponsored the rehabilitation of 35 boys drawn from various counties in Sagana, Kirinyaga county.

Njoroge wa Njari, an elder who helped graduate some of the initiates into adulthood culturally said the country is facing an imminent danger of extensive moral decadence should communities not preserve their cultures.

He said boys have been neglected and do not have mentors to show them their place in society.

“Many boys accompany their mothers to salons and sometimes even go back home with lipstick on their lips. This is often the start of the breakdown of the sense of their masculine responsibility,” he said.

The elder has been going around the country educating boys on their culture and how they should handle their future as men.

He said with the spike in immorality during the Covid-19 pandemic that saw young men engaging in crimes such as murder and even becoming parents, there is an urgent need to mould them before they permanently lose their ways.

While applauding the church's work, Njoroge said it is the role of elders to show boys how they should act.

Abandoning culture has made it easy for children to adopt foreign cultures that promote sexual immorality, further degrading the society, he said.

The elder took the time to talk to the initiates’ parents on how they should handle the new adults to help them grow into responsible men. 

(edited by o. owino)