Meet student empowering boy child for better mental health
From left: Samwel Ngaramba, Romeo Onyango, Alphine Momanyi hold their artwork at the Co-operative University of Kenya on April 4, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Clement Romeo Onyango came up with the Okoa Boy Child initiative to raise awareness of young men’s mental health.
- It also empowers them through art, music, film, painting and dancing.
In March last year, Clement Romeo Onyango was a dejected man after learning that one of his close friends had died by suicide.
The third-year diploma in credit management student at the Co-operative University of Kenya, Nairobi, could not understand how his friend of many years could suddenly end his life.
Upon investigation, Mr Onyango realised that his friend had been battling with issues that he feared sharing with anyone.
“All seemed fine with my friend. The previous day before he committed suicide, we were together and all seemed well. I, however, learnt after his death that he was undergoing depression,” Mr Onyango tells Nation.Africa.
Pained by the friend’s death, he came up with an initiative to raise awareness of the boy child’s mental health. This marked the birth of the Okoa Boy Child initiative. It supports boys and young men by empowering them through art, music, film, painting and dancing.
The initiative focuses on the mental health of the young men, and offers counselling, mentorship and capacity building sessions. To ensure maximum impact, Mr Onyango with seven of his friends formed the Urchin Group through which they carry out empowerment programmes.
Boys and young men who register under the Okoa Boy Child, an online platform created by the Urchin Group, are able to post their skills and competencies for hook up with potential customers.
The initiative skills participants in photography, videography, dancing and painting to enhance their competencies and make them more marketable.
Business opportunities
“The young men can post whatever art they have and get potential clients. So far, we have 27 young men, with specialty in art, film and photography, actively using the platform. I am happy to see them land business deals.”
Every month, Urchin Group organises a communal cooking event where they share a meal with the less fortunate, and engage in sporting activities.
The young men also use these events, dubbed Saturday Vibes, to share the challenges they are facing and their possible solutions.
“Saturday Vibes have been instrumental in helping some of our members overcome the challenges they face. Those who attend give real life experiences, offering solutions to other young men,” Mr Onyango adds.
He says the neglect of the boy child at home, and in society at large, is to blame for the deterioration of mental health among them.
“The boy child is undergoing many challenges, including peer pressure, drug and substance abuse, and discrimination. This is largely driven by joblessness, which comes with desperation. This initiative seeks to offer opportunities and hope to such young men,” he says.
The group has also created a podcast that targets young boys facing identity crisis, and those lacking a relationship with their fathers. Mr Onyango, however, says the strive to empower the boy child has not been a bed of roses. Lack of resources continues to derail their work, he says.
His dream is to set up a production company that will help young up-and-coming artists through training and capacity building.
Subject to the availability of funds, Mr Onyango adds, the group intends to start campus and high school tours to engage and empower male students.
“Our vision is to educate the boy child on how to cope with challenges in life. We also want to help them earn a living through their skills,” he says.
Samuel Ngarama, a photographer and beneficiary of the initiative, says he has so far bagged five clients, helping him earn some income. “I encourage young men to embrace and take advantage of the platform as it will help them to showcase their skills. I am a living testament. It has helped me to, so far, earn more than Sh10,000, which has kept me going,” he says.
Mr Ngarama, a student at the Academy of Dance and Art in Nairobi, adds that the group, through the Saturday Vibes programme, offers a safe space for the boy child to open up without fear, and get solutions to his problems.
“Last year, I had a bitter falling-out with my parents and after sharing this with the group, I got a solution and reconciled with them. My depression levels have also gone down, and I am now leading a better life,” he says.
Towards equality.
His wish is a level playing field for both genders without leaving anyone behind. “There is the need to listen to the plight of the boy child. Let us deal with issues that are making him feel neglected and unloved,” says the 24-year-old student.
In future, Mr Ngarama hopes to open his own photography, videography and dance school, and offer a platform where young men receive training and capacity building.
A section of gender and human rights activists in the country have, on numerous occasions, protested against the abandonment of the boy child.
In 2021, then Public Service and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia raised the red flag. Prof Kobia called for inclusivity in the empowerment of boys and girls.
She said her ministry was putting in place interventions and programmes at the grassroots and urban centres to find out how and why many boys were not in school, and ensure they got back.
