Africa-Press – Botswana. It is important for married men to come together and share experiences in marriage and help one another become better spouses, says Young Fathers Forum founder, Mr Karabo Merapelo.
He said it was against that background that he formed the organisation of married men in 2020, to address among other things, escalating gender-based violence (GBV) incidents that continued to be blamed on men.
He said the challenges that each married person encountered could not be taken for granted and others could learn from such experiences to better themselves.
He said the idea to establish the group was informed as a result of the high cases of GBV that were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic era.
“I engaged 10 of my friends and shared with them the vision and mission of forming such and organ,” he said.
Mr Merapelo said the COVID-19 era was a wake-up call as it revealed wrongs in many relationships, which called for solutions to such challenges.
He said the era was like a litmus test to many marriages and relationships as many who failed to address challenges amicably, opted to using violent tactics.
Therefore, he said Young Fathers Forum provided a platform for men to come together are and talk about their problems and workable solutions.
Even though not fully registered, Mr Merapelo was on the process completing the process.
Currently, he said its activities were self-sponsored, adding that most of their activities and campaigns were held at Molepolole main kgotla.
Mr Merapelo said the forum was non-denominational as all men were invited to attend their activities as they did not discriminate anyone based on religion.
He said their mandate was to reach out to all men regardless of their status of religion as all men go through the same, if not similar challenges in their walk of life.
Furthermore, Mr Merapelo said they were committed to helping government fight the GBV scourge and partner with other stakeholders to reach out to men concerning the matter.
He said experience had taught them that men needed a shoulder to cry on during trying times and if the challenges circumstances they encountered were not addressed, they tended to make wrong decisions that negatively affected the society.
Mr Merapelo added that Young Fathers Forum was a platform for men to constructively spell out their cries and amicably bring solutions to the table.
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