In Commemoration of the 2022 Youth month, the Department of Social Development accepted the invitation from the Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Rocklands to participate in a *Father and Son Breakfast Prayer* hosted by the Church. The breakfast was aimed at embracing the boy child, with special emphasis on those with no father figure in their lives.
Our Society is facing challenges each day, all of which make family life almost impossible and absent fathers the norm. Structural violence, untransformed physical environments, enduring poverty and inequality, unemployment and frustrated ambition all contribute to a toxic mix.
The Department, together with AFM (Men’s Fellowship), approaches the reality of the boy child with much gentleness and care, reminding every boy that he is a child. He is a child with potential, and the kind of family, home, school and community to which he is exposed will shape who he becomes like a son, learner, brother and father.
Outlining the purpose of the day; *Rev. Morris Sekhutleleng*emphasised that the prayer breakfast aimed to help build a relationship between Men and Boys of different ages, embrace the boy child and further inculcate the Godly culture of talking and seeking help rather than for boys to resort to violence and substance abuse whenever faced with challenges.
Boys from the Department’s Tshireletsong Child and Youth Centre and boy children from Mangaung were hosted in the Prayer Breakfast.
In her message, the MEC, as represented by Me Veronica Morake, Social Worker Manager in the Manguang Metro District Office, expressed her gratitude to the Church for the initiative and for involving the Department. She further expressed the need to hold hands with civil society leaders and together create a safe space in which every child is exposed to love, care and support.
