South Africa’s Men of the Year Embrace Responsibility

Printeremail

South African men are joining hands to eradicate abuse from their homes. In a country where 27.6% of men report raping a woman (Medical Research Council, 2009), eliminating gender-based violence is paramount to solving the national HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Brothers for Life movement provides the foundation these men need to mount a community response to abuse and HIV/AIDS.

Brothers for Life utilizes interpersonal communication, mass media and advocacy to teach men how to respect their health and families. According to Reverend Desmond Lambrechts, a leader of Brothers for Life and multiple partner organizations, since 2009 “USAID support has enabled us to reach one million [South Africans] through interpersonal activities.”

Brothers for Life recently honored forty Men of the Year for their dedication to creating an HIV/AIDS-free society. These trendsetters will continue to inspire their neighbors as they promote World AIDS Day’s ‘Getting to Zero’ campaign on December 1, 2011.

Men of the Year: innovative partnerships in action
As a boy, Moeketsi Ranyane revered the men in his Bloemfontein neighborhood – until he witnessed these men abuse the women who were raising him. Ranyane vowed to himself that as an adult he would help vulnerable women protect themselves. Now a proud elder of his community, Ranyane counsels local females that come to him in anguish about abuse at home. If he cannot personally intervene on their behalf, he connects them with other compassionate social workers or local law enforcement.

At the Men of the Year event, Ranyane met other leaders who are cultivating partnerships between men’s groups and public services. Stephen Thakeng, a spokesman for his local police, has established numerous church-based fellowships throughout neighboring townships. Thakeng and his staff “bombard the fellowships with ideas” on how to be responsible family members and develop financial security.

Benji Mothibe is an exceptional Justice Department official in Welkom, Free State. He created a Men’s Forum to help abused women navigate the justice system and educate immigrant mineworkers on their responsibilities as fathers. His community of fifty Brothers finds mutual support during weekly visits with Brothers for Life groups from other townships.

Brothers for Life encourages these men to build communal responsibility, advocate with public partners and share their progressive ideas.

Men of the Year come from everywhere
Brothers for Life is inspiring men of all ages and backgrounds. Twenty-one-year-old Sibusiso Mahlanga joined the movement this July, after his parents died and left him to support his teenage sisters. Samuel Mpebe, fifty years old and blind since the age of two, assists pregnant women and all others who come to his remote village for his guidance.

In the presence of many influential HIV/AIDS advocacy and policy making organisation, Reverend Lambrechts lauded USAID for providing reliable support. He expressed hope that “Americans never grow weary of being the hands, feet and hearts that the world needs.”