Many families across the Central region are silently navigating the storms of alcoholism, economic pressures and diminishing cultural mentorship for boys.
These forces ripple through childhood, shaping boys’ emotional development, identity and even future prospects.
With the rising cost of living, large numbers of men have been consuming cheap, potent brews that render them economically unproductive and cause them to abdicate their parental and marital roles, adversely shaping their son’s lives.
This heaps the role of parenthood squarely on women’s shoulders, overwhelming them with responsibilities.
As many boys transition to adulthood after completing their primary and junior secondary education, religious leaders and counsellors from Embu county have challenged men from the region to resume their roles and help shape them into proper adults.
“Young men need to be mentored and shaped into future leaders but we have seen a worrying trend of men abandoning their roles in the society, leading to confusion,” Bishop John Mwangi from Seeds of Hope Ministry said.
Without proper role models, the bishop noted that many young men get disoriented and fail to live up to their full capacity as their fathers sink into alcoholism.
Speaking during the discharge of tens of initiates at Tenri School in Embu, Mwangi said the boy child has been facing neglect in his home and fails to get the right trajectory due to absentee fathers.
The clergyman said even at the societal level, boys lack male adults who can guide and mentor them through life which he said affects their marriage life as adults and hampers their sense of responsibility.
He expressed concerns that some cultural roles bestowed on men have been left to women who struggle to fulfil them as they juggle their many responsibilities.
“The boy child needs adult men to guide him and protect him from the moral decay being experienced in society. Absentee parents are the reason we’re bring up children with a lot of animosity and bitterness”.
Culturally, the bishop stated, crucial rites of passage such as circumcision require the participation of fathers and uncles to help the initiates navigate the challenges of adulthood.
He challenged the clergy to establish programmes that can cater to the young men, sealing the gaps left by the society and ensuring they grow up into well-rounded adults.
Tenri School director Kariuki Njogu said the initiates were taken through intensive counselling, and urged parents to ensure they cultivate close relations with their young sons as they prepare to join senior secondary school.
“If care is not taken, it’s at this age that most children lose their footing and get lost,” he said.
Njogu called for stakeholders to come up with a programme that will empower the boy-child and save him from exposure to things that may alter their lives for the worse.
by ALICE WAITHERA
