Johannesburg - Didah Lwandle Motaung, or Mkhulu Khanyisa Amanzi Lwandle, as she is affectionately known in the spiritual healing world, is on a mission to put a smile in young men’s lives.
As the festive season approaches, Motaung, through her latest initiative, wants to help as many young men as possible with a decent pair of shoes, clothes, and emotional support.
The Soweto-born and Free State-based healer and Free State premier candidate for Radical Solidarity Congress said through her Adopt to Educate a Boy Child campaign, she hopes to help instil a sense of pride and confidence in the lives of young boys from across the country.
“Now that I am actively involved in politics, I hope this programme will fall into place and make a difference in the lives of young boys. This initiative is based solely on the idea that elderly men can commit to financially and emotionally supporting young boys, ensuring that their school and basic needs are taken care of well up until they too can pay it forward. The idea is to create kings as the world is focused on the girl child and her needs,” she told The Star.
With gender-based violence at the centre of attention, Motaung said she would like to see more efforts being afforded to a boy child, as has been the case with the girl child.
“Seeing how many brands and campaigns are put in place for a girl child and her hygienic needs. It seems that society forgets that young boys also go through puberty as well as emotional and physical changes. A boy child needs to be allowed room to be vulnerable and sensitive without being stigmatised and called weak. If we expect boys to not have emotions, how do we expect them to be happy partners, husbands, and men in the future?” she said.
She said that as a mother, healer, and now politician, she knows that every child, regardless of gender, matters.
“I know that with my position and involvement in politics as a mother and healer, every child matters regardless of gender. My message to these young kings is that they must never forget that they are exactly that: kings. They are worthy, and they too deserve the best that life has to offer. It is okay to embrace each emotion, fear, and dream as they come. It is okay to dream. You are alive after all, so please do dream,” she said.
Motaung’s initiatives coincided with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Young Men and Boys Indaba at Maponya Mall in Soweto, where the president urged young men to speak out, become better leaders, and put an end to toxic masculinity.
She said that through her initiative, she would like to help young men gain confidence through a new supply of clothes as well as emotional support and care.
“We want to help young boys from all walks of life, and we are not necessarily targeting boys from only disadvantaged families because there are kids born into wealth but lack emotional support and a father figure to lean on,” she said.
The Star