Community Media Trust, also known as Siyayinqoba, has recently awarded certificates of attendance to 24 men in Eersterust and 40 in Mamelodi who took part in its Man To Man programme.
According to Nkululeko Mkhize, the Man To Man three- day programme is designed specifically for men to tackle issues related to gender-based violence, condom usage, HIV testing and voluntary medical male circumcision.
He said the whole point of the programme is to speak to men and address issues that they go through on a daily basis.
“As we all know men always find it difficult to talk about what they are going through in terms of relationships,” said Mkhize.
“In our programme we sit around in a circle we talk about all issues relating to men, including gender-based violence and how it starts and what it may lead to, and how to avoid it,” he said.
Mkhize explained that Community Media Trust has branches in Eersterust and Mamelodi and all 24 men in Eersterust finished the programme while in Mamelodi two of the 42 men who has enrolled for the programme could not finish the programme as they were busy with election matters.
He pointed out that all the men who took part in the programne enjoyed it thoroughly.
Mkhize said the certificate of attendance of the Man To Man programne would help participants to apply for vacancies that arise now and then at Community Media Trust because the company prefers to employ people who have gone through the company’s programmes.
He said attending the programme shows dedication and participants can also use the certificates when applying for jobs at other companies because the Man To Man programme is recognised countrywide as it speaks about tackling HIV and gender-based violence.
“When we started in 2017, we were only working in Region 3 and 6 in Tshwane but now we work in all regions of Tshwane and we expand every year because of the positive impact we have in communities,” he said.
The certificates of the Man To Man programme will be champions of anti-gender-based violence by virtue of the training they received.
One of the participants in the programne, Thabang Masemola, told Tshwane Talks that he feels proud of himself because he has done something productive and will pass on the information, he received in the programne to those who don’t know anything about what he has learned in the programme.
Sphiwe Ncaka said: “I feel empowered as a man after receiving the certificate, I feel like I will be able to maintain one partner, maintain a healthy relationship with my partner and inspire others to do the same.”
Sabelo Masemola of Buffer Zone said the programne was very engaging and pointed out that men’s rights were not taken seriously in some instances and that the number of abused men might be higher than that of abused women, but men don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“I also learned that as men we must talk about issues that affect us in relationships and not bottle-up things,” he said.
He said he also learned that as a man he must also stand up against the abuse if women and children.