"Don't Leave Us Boys Out of GBV Prevention Training"

Malawi: Some boys enrolled in Ujamaa Pamodzi Africa's Empowerment Transformation Training-ETT have urged organisations not to exclude boys from youth empowerment and GBV prevention programmes.

This, the boys argue, will contribute to the creation of a society in which boys grow up to be gentlemen by refusing to participate in gender-based violence and working to end it.

The ETT programme, which began ten years ago, was designed to prevent and reduce incidents of gender-based violence, with a particular focus on sexual violence, by teaching girls self-defense and boys self-control.

In Lilongwe, the Empowerment Transformation Training is being implemented at Ngongonda Primary School, where boys and girls learn to respect and protect one another, as well as to prevent and report any form of violence.

During a media visit to the school on Thursday, one of the boys, 15-year-old Gerald Malekwa (standard 8), expressed his delight that for the first time, an interactive programme empowering boys in life skills is available.

He went on to say that as a result of the empowerment programme, he has learned and now understands that women and girls deserve respect, not abuse.

Headmaster Harry Makoka of Ngongonda Primary School also praises the programme, saying it has helped to increase attendance among girls who used to face various forms of abuse at home, on the way to school, and on school grounds.

The Empowerment Transformation Training, according to Simang'aliso Domoya, Programs Manager for Ujamaa Pamodzi Africa, is a GBV prevention initiative for both boys and girls.

She stated that there has been a positive response since the school's training began in July 2021.

In partnership with World Relief, the empowerment programme has reached over 150, 000 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 14 in Lilongwe, Salima, Dedza, Blantyre, Mangochi, Machinga, and Kasungu.