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WHO WE ARE AND WHAT DO WE DO?

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The health promotion class of 2016 in the Discipline of Psychology, School of Applied Human Sciences, College of Humanities, have developed a community outreach project to create a dialogical space for men in the Cato Manor/Crest area to discuss issues related to domestic violence, substance use/abuse, reproductive health, safety & security and family matters. The health promotion team is led by Siyabonga Mbambo, who is also a member of the UKZN Brothers for life and men’s forum.  Dr. Olagoke Akintola who teaches health promotion in the School of Applied Human Sciences is the convener and coordinator of the community outreach project.

 

Cato Manor is a predominately black working class community with low income earners situated 5km west of the Durban city centre in KwaZulu-Natal. It consists of houses as well as informal settlements and is an area notorious for violence and crime because of high levels of poverty and unemployment.

 

Hence, this endeavour to make a difference in the area, stemmed from a series of reports on a social assessment that was conducted in the Cato Manor area recently by the Health Promotion team. This assessment identified certain common major challenges in the community. 

 

“In order to address these issues, there was a need to create a dialogical space where these issues would be discussed and also where possible solutions would be developed. There have been a number of successful programmes and forums developed for men in South Africa where men are made aware of various social ills and encouraged to be agents of positive change in their lives as well as in their communities. This project therefore, seeks to create a similar forum or dialogical space as a form of community intervention,” explained Nosipho Makhakhe a member of the team and co-facilitator of the project.

 

She believes that the men in the community will benefit from this dialogical space as the current discussions are both educational and empowering. “This dialogical space is created with the hope of developing individual and collective agency among the men so that they can effect change in their families and communities,” said Nosipho.

 

During each session men are divided into two (2) groups to discuss and come up with possible solutions within the groups before coming together for a plenary session, the session lasts for approximately 3 hours. At the beginning of each session, a recap and an evaluation of the previous session is done. The sessions are facilitated by one of the health promotion masters students while others contribute to the discussion and take notes. Five different sessions have been held so far.

 

So far, the men have described the sessions as educational and enlightening. They are also pleased with the innovation of the dialogical space as it gives them the opportunity to speak about the pressing issues in their homes and in the community. Some of them went as far as writing and reciting emotive poems that express how they feel about the social ills around them and how they wish to be better men and fight the vicious cycle of domestic violence, substance use/abuse, reproductive health, safety & security and family matters.

 

Cato Manor resident Ms Bongiwe Mthembu feels that the dialogue is working to change the mind-sets and attitudes of men in the community, “Men who are not the breadwinners of the family and those that rely on income from their wives have bruised egos. To show their power they beat their wives, they control the household or they drink alcohol and are depressed,” said Ms. Bongiwe.

 

“I know that some of these men now attend this dialogue and talk about what is affecting them. You can see a change in these men because of this dialogue. I think it is a safe space for them to talk openly without being judged. It is a good thing because in the end, the whole community benefits,” said Ms Bongiwe.

 

Meanwhile, the health promotion team are working closely with Brothers for Life as well as the UKZN Men's Forum, who are both organisations that run health projects targeting men. They also train facilitators who want to develop similar projects and spaces of engagement.

 

The researchers, who are health promotion students from the School of Applied Human Sciences, are currently looking for possible future facilitators from the Cato Manor community that can be trained by them in collaboration with Brothers for Life to continue with the dialogical space and to ensure sustainability.

 

“Our hope is to encourage some of our participants to become trained facilitators in order to tackle issues around domestic violence, substance use/abuse, reproductive health, safety & security and family matters in their community on a long term basis”, explained Aslam Moosa, a member of the team of the project.

 

The researchers in the health promotion class of 2016 include Siyabonga Mbambo, Nosipho Makhakhe, Gbotemi Aloro, Diana Mukokanduku, Mayana Makiwa, Aslam Moosa, Kassa Barakamfitiye, Yolanda Mqamkana, Thulisile Shange and Reenay Moodley, a research group led by Dr. Olagoke Akintola.