To Be a Man

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14.

Kwame's Hope*

To be a man is to be tough. Strong. Able to withstand all difficulties. A man should never cry.

These are the sentiments many young boys in Zimbabwe grow up hearing, so when they fall and scrape their knee, they don't dare cry. Only girls cry. To be a man is to withstand all difficulties. 

But sometimes, boys endure worse than a scrape on the knee- they experience abuse. Despite withstanding the trauma, they need to cry out. They need space to heal so they can be set free to thrive. They need to process their emotions so they can grow up to be compassionate and kindhearted men that do not continue the same cycles of abuse that led to their own trauma. 

Kwame, a RiverCross Freedom Club leader has been hosting weekly club meetings with a group of young boys in his community to teach them these truths. By walking through each episode of RiverCross audio dramas, Kwame is showing these boys that they deserve to be treated well. They deserve to process their feelings even when it means crying. Thanks to Kwame and other trusted men in their community, these boys are growing in resilience and understanding of their own stories, while learning what it truly means to be a man. 

To be a man is to be compassionate. Emotional. Able to lean on a support system in times of difficulty. A man should always advocate for himself and his peers when witnessing or experiencing abuse, and a man should always feel the freedom to cry.

*Although the stories we share are true, some identifying details have been changed.