The Department of Education created a campaign targeted at amakrwala (young men). This was after they found out that the young men misbehave in school. The department saw it befitting to start a campaign that will restore the young men’s integrity and morals, with a campaign called Boys/Amakrwala Camp.
The department said that when the young men come back from initiation schools, they are unruly, and they even assault one another.
What surfaced is that the young men return with disrespect, and they do not want to take off their caps and jackets in the classroom. They are defiant and do not want to be sent on errands. It was also discovered that some of these young men drop out of school.
This caused the department to act early. This campaign was held in Fish Riverbank, Peddie.
Mandilakhe Yephi, who comes from the branch in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, said this is one of the ways they reach out to those who have not undergone initiation.
Yephi said that most of the boys who have not been initiated they arrive at the initiation schools with false teachings from the outside.
The Chairman of the Chiefs in the Peddie region, Chief Ngwekazi who is also a member of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders was present.
Chief Ngwekazi said that the main reason for bringing these boys together is that some of them come back physically healthy. But there are those who come back, and their mental health is affected which has caused problems in the community.
“I told them that the prisons are overcrowding, they are not overcrowded by women or the elderly, but they are overcrowded because of their agemates who underwent initiation. This means that there is something that we are not doing well in the country. Maybe if we return to the old culture of teaching them from the inside what it is to be a man, there might be change,” said Chief Ngwekazi.
He went on to say that this day will help them a lot in building them as men.
“These teachings will help us to inspire and produce men who will be the protectors of women and children. Men who are able to look after their families. We also wish for this campaign to resonate with all traditional nurses so that the nation can improve,” said Chief Ngwekazi.
A student who is a young man and used to do drugs, Lisolethu Sam (19), was one of the young men who attended the camp. He said that he grew up as a child who was always angry, which eventually led him to use drugs. What caused him to have anger issues was witnessing his father abuse his mother growing up.
However, Sam said that he stopped smoking drugs after advice like this because he saw that he was ruining his life.
The department has already started this campaign in the Tsolo region.
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