In efforts to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Five (5) to achieve gender equality, The Women Leaders South Africa (WLSA) Foundation in partnership with Child Welfare Tshwane (CWT) piloted the Boys Empowered Project (BEP) to help build a society of emotionally stable boys with values, boundaries, and healthy relationships with themselves and others. The programme also aims to create a safe environment for boy-children to engage, learn and practice age-appropriate tools that will increase their individual sense of self, gender inclusivity, ability to communicate confidently and encourage resilience and community building. The 1st of May 2021 marked the launch of the BEP and the 1st session of the Girls Empowered Project (GEP) in 2021.
In June 2020 the WLSA Foundation together with CWT launched the GEP pilot to empower young girls and the youth of Atteridgeville with knowledge and skills that will not only change the trajectory of their lives but that of their community as well. We also address topics of gender-based violence (GBV), femicide, self-love, and sufficiency. Since our inception, we have impacted 30 young girls between the ages of 15-19, providing each of the beneficiaries with dignity packs-bi monthly. Realizing that boy-children are often excluded in interventions aimed at empowering society and addressing topics such as GBV, femicide, and sexual assaults, it was essential to include the boy-children/males as well when working towards achieving gender inclusivity and equality.
The planning of the BEP and GEP involved a lot of research to ensure we provide a concrete and informative curriculum for our programmes. We recruited male facilitators who have previously worked with boy-children, to ensure the BEP beneficiaries relate to them and understand their experiences. We ensured that all the facilitators undergo the facilitators training with Dr. Charley Pietersen, who is the founder and author of Growing Up Without a Father to give us more insight on how to make our programme more informative, enjoyable and relatable to the beneficiaries.
The BEP and GEP run simultaneously, with each group having their designated classroom to allow them to relate with their fellow peers and share their experiences, however, the curriculum allows for the BEP and GEP beneficiaries to meet when addressing topics that seek both female and male interventions.
