Help South African boys grow up to be better men.

3 mentors and 20 boys travelled to beautiful Magaliesberg, South Africa this December to join over 100 other boys for a four day camp in the bush, to continue learning how to live the five key values, kindness, courage, honesty, self discipline and respect.  None of our boys had ever left their home town of Chintsa East, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, and neither had most of their parents.  Thanks to a generous sponsor, we booked them onto an overnight public coach for the 14 hour, 1100 km (683 mile) to Magaliesberg.  Packed with sandwiches, fruit and a snack, together with borrowed sleeping bags, the boys apprehensively boarded the bus, to a province they had never been to before, with one asking if there would be wild animals and would they be dangerous - it is Africa after all.  

The boys arrived safely and were picked up by our collaborators and hosts - the Character Company team.  Magaliesberg is normally hot and dry. Our boys didn't see the sun for their entire camp, experiencing rain and cold weather the whole time, giving the camp organisers different challenges - how to keep 154 boys busy for 4 days.  No problem!  Mud sliding, kloofing (cliff jumping into water holes), paint ball (coined 'pain ball' by one of the boys), and of course, pillow fights, coupled with lots of home cooked, nourishing food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  In between all the activities, boys and their mentors discussed the importance of living the five honourable values, so they would grow into better men.

In the middle of all of this, we received word that Lisalise had made it to the last round of a high school bursary (scholarship) selection process, and so with the help of three supporters from Johannesburg who picked him up, housed him overnigh (in the biggest bed he's ever slept in) and got him to Johannesburg Airport in time to meet the rest of his group the next day.  Liza, who had never left his small home town had now not only attended the boys' camp, but embarked on another camp and took his first ever plane ride back home four days later.  It is these experiences that broaden the world of children.

South Africa sees 8 women and 6 men murdered every day.  The new Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi said "it's crazy we have to have movements, fighting, for women just to be alive."  Where the majority of perpertrators are men, we agree with Zozibini that men must be part of combating gender based violence.  Boys' camps such as this one will be repeated each year for our boys, in conjunction with their weekly mentoring sessions with their mentors, in an effort to grow boys into men who are kind, respectful, courageous, self disciplined and honest, in an effort to see more good men in the world.

Thank you for supporting the work we do with our boys.