Local CPF reaches out to young men

The Community Policing Forum (CPF) Sector three hosted an engagement session with both boys and dads under the theme Asikhulume, Let’s talk on Sunday, July 14 at Greenvillage, Doornkop.

The discussion was aimed at addressing critical issues faced by young males, which includes abuse of drugs, criminality, peer pressure and gangsterism.

CPF sector three Public Relations Officer, Dalinjebo Ngculu said the objective of the session was to assist young people who exhibit negative behaviour and attempt to lessen the societal issues that young men encounter.

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“We’re doing this session today because of the behaviour we’ve seen in this community, where there was a fight between two groups of boys. We decided to intervene and deal with the situation before it got out of hand since we saw it as a sign of gangsterism. Furthermore, we think that drugs play a role in these kinds of behaviours,” he said.

Ngculu further stated that the attendance was good even though they had hoped for more. They were however not discouraged because there are still many sessions to come.

And they hope that more people will show up in future sessions because their goal is to get the word out as much as possible.

The programme included enlightening conversations and first-hand narratives from those who have been impacted by social ills that the community faces.

Ex-offender, Reason Toli was one of the people that shaped the young people in attendance. He talked about his experience of going to prison and the hardships he had there.

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He said, “By telling my story, I hope to educate young people about the consequences of bad behaviour. I don’t want them to make the same mistakes I made when I was a young boy.

“I’m trying to raise awareness among young people about how crime can ruin a person’s life and to think twice before acting.”

A resident of Thubelisha who attend the engagement session, Joel Mashamba said It is crucial to foster positive community development, particularly for young boys.

“The sooner our community commits to assisting our children to grow up in a healthy environment, the better. As parents, we also need to start acting responsibly; you can’t let your neighbour’s child smoke or drink in front of you. Instead you should be a parent to everyone and correct them, as we all know that it takes a village to raise a child,’’ concluded Mashamba.