While Sonke staff in Cape Town are having our 2014 planning meeting today, we’re looking back at our key achievements from 2013. It’s so inspiring listening to Papy Molembe, a trainer from our Refugee Health and Rights Programme speak about his pride at building a dynamic Community Action Team (CAT) in Retreat of 30 people who are like a family now.
He talks about women’s testimonies saying that they’ve now changed how they think about gender, and now give their sons different household duties in the home and involve them in helping them in the kitchen, with cooking and in the household. Papy recognizes that this kind of change will change how these boys grow up and relate to women and their future partners. Another woman told Papy how she came home and taught what she learned to her husband.
Papy also talked about Sonke’s fatherhood work and how men changed nappies/diapers on dolls at a public event on Father’s Day…and he reflects on the moment when he realized that the work that Sonke did with 89 children at Methodist Primary School on gender and gender vulnerability had significantly impacted them at an event where they acknowledged what Sonke had contributed to the school.
Papy says that last year he saw how practical the work he did was… that if one walked around Retreat and asked 5 people about Sonke, that he thinks at least two of them would know what Sonke does because of the way Sonke has reached and impacted that community. Papy said that seeing the impact of this work makes him feel great.
