Partner profile: Epic Youth Matters

When did Epic Youth Matters start and what inspired it?

Epic Youth Matters (EYM) was launched in 2007 as a response to the growing need for effective methods to help youth, youth workers, and youth organisations become more relevant in assisting young people to face life's challenges. 

The vision behind EYM was to train leaders, and address the many issues facing young people daily, providing them with the resources to make a difference. We have since been challenged to develop programmes specifically aimed at gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) prevention amongst young people and children, as this is one of the biggest issues we have seen our youth face over the years. 

Our GBVF prevention programmes initially included healing, restoration and empowerment for girls and young women, but we have begun including our boys and young men in the programme. 

We found that more than 80% of our girls had experienced abuse, in some form, at some point in their lives. We therefore begin with healing and restoration, before empowering our girls. But, GBVF cannot be prevented if we don't help our young men and boys. Our boys need healing and restoration too, as they've grown up in the same homes where our girls and have experienced abuse. We try and empower our boys to choose better ways to deal with life's triggers and challenges, instead of resorting to violence. Our hope is that this then prevents our boys from becoming perpetrators of abuse. This intervention starts with boys (Young Men Of Honour, or YMOH) and girls (Young Women Of Magnificent Beauty, or YWOMB) clubs at schools, mentorship programmes on a Saturday and camping programmes. 

What are some of the challenges you have seen young men and boys going through? What do you think they need?

Some of the challenges we have found that our boys face are a lack of good role models, rejection, emotional manipulation, exposure to crime, violence, abuse, poverty, an under-resourced education system and drug and alcohol addiction, to name but a few. 

The example that their fathers set are of men who have multiple girlfriends and multiple children from different relationships. Some are alcoholics, some are abusive, are absent physically and / or emotionally. They either lack, or don't attempt to have, the ability to communicate with their sons. and if they do communicate, it's mostly hurtful. Our boys, therefore, don't aim very high, regarding their goals. They are not exposed to men who can motivate our boys to have good goals for the future.

Our boys are seeing their fathers treat their mothers badly, they are seeing their mothers, aunties and grandma's accept this kind of behaviour and also the grandmothers and aunties perpetuate this kind of behaviour upon their mothers. 

Another challenge that we are finding is culture. We've come across several boys who don't know where they belong. The father hasn't done the 'right' cultural thing, as in, either paid lobola and married their mum, or hasn't paid 'damages' for impregnating their mum. This means that a child cannot take on their father's surname, something that is very important in South African culture. 

And then we have peer pressure at school. Boys and girls at school can be so vicious with each other. Some are teased for wearing the same clothes every day, or having a torn uniform or broken school shoes. They are added to social media groups and further teased, made to feel ugly. This kind of emotional abuse is growing in our schools. 

Our young men and boys need healing and they need to be empowered to turn down the urge to respond violently or manipulatively to the world around them. 

They need to feel loved unconditionally, they need acceptance and stability. They need good role models that reflect healthy morals and values to live by, who also provide a sense of inspiration for finding purpose in this life. They need to be taught coping mechanisms to deal with  anger, suicidal thoughts, violent outbursts and mental health related issues. 

We, at Epic Youth Matters, train our team members to build relationships with our children, so that they know that whatever we teach them starts from a place of love, acceptance and stability.

What is your vision for young people in South Africa?

Epic Youth Matters envisions equipped young people in South Africa overcoming challenges, seizing opportunities and making meaningful contributions to their communities. We see our youth living out a balance between rights and responsibilities and building a positive mindset that helps them grow. Our vision also emphasises training youth workers to engage innovatively with young people, helping them make informed life choices while participating in positive activities.

To find out more:

Website: www.epicyouthmatters.org.za

Facebook: Epic Youth Matters https://www.facebook.com/EpicYouthMatters  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicyouthmattersza 

Tiktok: @epicyouthmatters