It is normal for them to show their emotions, to share their dreams and express their fears, to be vulnerable and seek help, to be heard and encouraged, to be supported emotionally, spiritually, and financially. But, what happens when all these are overlooked in the home and society?
Today, we assume boys are immune to emotional trauma. That every male child is automatically emotionally strong and independent, their strength lies in how tough they appear to be. Showing emotions is a weakness. We assume they can handle everything, so we don’t teach them the emotional and social skills that the girl child often gets.
Society says, every boy child, is to be raised with intense strictness and discipline, which has eventually done more harm than good to them and the society. In Nigeria, there’s this pressure that makes boys feel like showing emotions is a sign of weakness. When boys feel vulnerable, they often keep it to themselves because they think asking for help makes them look weak. It’s like they are caught in the web of suffering in silence because of how they are raised and how society paints it to be. This has caused a lot of them to bottle up pain, anxiety, and trauma from abuse, both physically and mentally, which often lead to serious mental health issues like depression and substance abuse.
Many teenage boys are struggling emotionally behind closed doors. Depression, anger, addiction, loneliness, pressure from everywhere around them, which they often hide, for the fear of being mocked or seen as emotional, which is usually attributed to the female gender. That mind-set has made many young boys bottle up their feelings until it comes out as anger, violence, addiction, bad group involvement, depression, or even suicidal thoughts.
A lot of boys, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria, grow up facing real financial hardship, due to high rate of poverty. Some can’t afford school fees, food, clothes, transport, or other basic things. Seeing their families suffer with money puts a heavy weight on them. For some, that pressure and helplessness makes them feel like they have to get money at any cost, even if it’s risky.
At Hasken Rayuwa Foundation, we prioritise the emotional and mental health of these young adults, we are passionate about helping them navigate life through different phases to reach their full potential, and that is why, our Organisation targets Secondary schools where these young children are , to create trauma awareness and counselling for them.We recently , held a session with the young boys at Alheri Secondary School, Sokoto state. We carefully made it clear to them that feeling scared, sad, or anxious is totally normal and not a sign that they are weak, but that these emotions are just part of being humans. So, it’s fine for them to feel all these emotions.
We spoke to them about “Mental health “made sure to make the session interactive enough for student to ask questions and make contribution. This shows how receptive they were and how much they have gained from the session.
To help boys with their emotional well-being, we need to get rid of these stereotypes and create spaces where they feel safe to talk about things and get help in order for them grow up to be better men.
After the session, we shared the gifts we brought with us amongst them all, as a token of how much we see them and care for them.
We thank our partners for their constant support in every way possible, we believe together will continue to reach out to more young people out there, to shape their lives for the best.
Be part of the transformation. Invest in the lives of young boys and girl to help shape their future.
With just a weekly donation of as low as 2$, sent here:
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 1016475161
ACCOUNT NAME: Hasken Rayuwa Afrika Ministry (HUMANITARIAN ACCOUNT)
BANK NAME: Zenith Bank PLC
USD ACCOUNT NUMBER:5070985611
ACCOUNT NAME: Hasken Rayuwa Afrika Ministry
BANK NAME: Zenith Bank PLC
