• The Cape Town care centre opens doors to men, offering counselling and skills training to help fight gender-based violence.

• Men were encouraged to speak about their problems instead of bottling up emotions that can lead to violence.

A Cape Town care centre is reaching out to men, telling them it’s okay to cry and ask for help.

The Etafeni Day Care Centre in Nyanga held a men’s conference at Zolani Centre last Thursday to show men they have a safe space to talk about their problems.

Programme manager Zoliswa Mdekwa Ncamani said they started working with men last year to help stop gender-based violence (GBV).

“With a men’s conference, we want to offer a safe space where men can engage. We want them to get information, knowledge and resources to help themselves become better men so that we can win against gender-based violence,” said Ncamani.

The centre welcomes men to use its services, which include counselling and skills training.

“We have eight programmes, and all these programmes offer services that men will find relevant. We also address the issue of mental health, which plays a vital role in one’s life. We have one-on-one sessions as we have social workers,” said Ncamani.

The centre helps people start food gardens at home and teaches them life skills, business skills, money management and computer skills.

“We also place them in work opportunities. We have an accredited sewing programme that doesn’t discriminate. We take young people, women, as well as men, to empower them with the skills to sustain themselves,” said Ncamani.

Ncamani said they want to change Nyanga’s high rate of GBV. “We encourage men to speak up and not bottle things inside. I heard that Nyanga is in the eighth spot for gender-based violence, and we are doing this work daily, 365 days a year because we want to see change,” said Ncamani.

Nyanga resident Lungelo Mwahla, 43, said men need places where they can open up about their problems.

“As men, we are going through a lot, and most men still believe that men don’t cry or speak when they are feeling hurt or in pain. That is wrong because it leads to gender-based violence,” said Mwahla.

Pictured above: Zoliswa Mdekwa Ncamani, a programme manager from Etafeni Day Centre, speaking at a men’s conference.

Source: Supplied