By Emefa Yawa Ocloo
In the movie 300, about Spartans, before a young prince was said to be ready to be king, he was thrusted into the Wilderness. He was sent into the Wilderness to survive. He learned how to hunt to feed himself, make clothes for himself, protect himself, find solutions to problems and develop his creative sense. This was to prepare him for the throne.
In our world today, It is also important for a young African male teenager to go through this period of self-discovery and development. This is important because during this period, he is able to learn about himself and not what others believe him to be or want him to become. He learns about his interests, gifts, talents, strengths and weaknesses. He will also learn what it takes to achieve goals and hone his talents.
Through this self-discovery great virtues such as mental strength, creativity, discipline etc. will emerge in this young man. This can also be achieved with the help of good guidance, counseling and mentoring from male role models. Joining of institutions or groups involving male role models also help shape his mind and also answer questions the young male teenager has. This period should also help these African teenagers learn about their sexual desires and how to put that in check. This is because lack of discipline generally and sexual indiscipline particularly, has killed a lot of the dreams of the African teenage boy.
This is a problem we must collectively address.
When we look around, we see a lot of grown men with undesirable behaviors. They mostly think of themselves and their selfish desires. They lack discipline in many facets of life and often don’t have long term goals. They are not problem solvers but rather create problems. A lot of these in-disciplined men are more likely to abandon children when things get difficult and challenging. They see manhood as being able to have power and control. These and many more become the challenges society will face and have been facing because we fail to focus on the male figure.
Stay tuned to this space for more.
The Author Emefa Yawa Ocloo, is an advocate for the overall Mental Health of Men. She is the CEO of CoDe Counselling, a mental health organization dedicated towards Men’s Mental Health. They also assist Men who are going through Divorces.
To get in touch with CoDe Counselling, send a message to the Editor of Global African Times on 0240740001 or send an email to ceo@globalafricantimes.com
