ALL boys misbehave at school and home at times.
But when parents and adults don’t stop them, they keep misbehaving and learn bad habits.
Nkholi Primary School in Pimville, Soweto, organised an overnight camp where schoolboys spent the night with their fathers, mentors and teachers to show them the right way.
Justin Mahlatjie, deputy principal at the school, said the programme was created by their principal but because she’s a woman, she wasn’t allowed to attend the camp.
“We knew that some boys were behaving badly. They beat up girls and did other terrible things, so we decided to get men to talk to them. We hoped that this would help them improve in and outside the class.”
He said many boys didn’t have fathers to guide them and this created frustration which found nasty ways to vent.
There were different speakers on the night as well as books because it was also during the International Book Fair.
Tshepo Moloto, former Moroka Swallows, Platinum Stars, Jomo Cosmos and Vietnam player, also attended the camp to motivate the boys.
He said they acted as fathers to those who did not have fathers. He hoped to inspire them to become better people.
“We talked about available careers and how to deal with their home situation productively so as to not derail their work.”
Save The Boy Child organisation is an non-profit organisation led by Abram Bosman. He said the programme was started to help boys grow up to become the fathers they needed.
Boys from grade R to 7 were in attendance. They were fed and spent most of the night learning from the men as well as reading books.
