Scores of children from Rev MS Lugongolo Foundation in Browns Farm visited Green Point Park in Green Point on Saturday 12 March for relaxation and fun.
The vacation was part of the foundation’s programme to show the children the other side of the world.
The foundation was established in 2020 with the aim of empowering and creating a platform for men and young boys to share their problems.
Foundation founder Rev Mawande Lugongolo described the event as informative and an eye opener for some of the children.
“The majority of the children that we are working with in our foundation come from disadvantaged families. Some of them were going out of Philippi for the first time. Besides entertainment, we also had team work sessions where they discussed and shared their challenges either at school or home,” said Lugongolo.
The event was the first of this kind for the foundation.
“Our plan is to have support groups for everyone where people will talk without being judged. We’ve noticed that men and young boys most of the time like to bottle things inside. When we grew up our fathers told us that ‘indoda ayikhali’. Now we want to change that perception and create a platform where men can have a dialogue and share their problems,” said Lugongolo.
Explaining how the girls became part of the foundation, he said: “Some of the parents came to me and asked for their daughters because they noticed some changes in the behaviour of their sons. We had a case where the mother of one of the boys, who is in my foundation, came with her daughter and wanted her to also join. So, for now we only accept young girls,” said Lugongolo, adding that they focus on children between 10 to 17 years old.
One of the children who attended the event, Noluhle Qamata (16) from Browns Farm, described the foundation as a safe space for everyone.
She said the occasion gave them time to free their minds. “We had fun and relaxed. And the environment was totally different from where we used to be. It was quiet and nice,” said Qamata.
Besides entertainment, she also learnt a lot about life, she said. “We also learned that young people must speak out. We must take care of one another and stop bullying or body shaming each other,” she concluded.