Sonke and the City of Cape Town will be launching the long-awaited Men’s Wellness Centre in Gugulethu on Friday, 17 Feb 2012. The Centre is a wonderful collaboration between Sonke and the City and provides a space for men to get information, training, advice, support and access clinic services in a male-friendly environment. But before a launch could take place, the facility needed some cleaning up!
The Clean Up
On Friday, 10 Feb 2012, the Sonke staff members from the Cape Town office and community volunteers set off for Gugs laden with brooms, gloves, black bags, buckets and a great deal of enthusiasm.
After working hard to clear the debris, dead foliage and rubbish from around the facility, the staff and community volunteers took a break…
One Man Wants to Teach Equality…
(The team sang English, French and isiXhosa renditions of this rabble rousing OMC favourite, but my poor videoing skills mean we only captured the French version decently)
Why a Men’s Wellness Centre
It may seem strange that there needs to be a separate facility to provide these services to men when the Gugulethu clinic is there on the same property, but research across the world shows that men are less likely to access health care services than women. The Men’s Wellness Centre has been developed to create an environment that is most likely to draw in men who would otherwise perhaps not seek these services.
The Centre also provides Sonke with a wonderful base in Gugulethu, the centre of the Klipfontein district where much of our Cape Town-based One Man Can work takes place. From this base, our staff and Community Action Team members will more easily be able to reach out to the various clinics and schools in the district with whom we are committed to working.
