A young man’s quest to change a generation

December 2010 was a bittersweet month for Kenton Mutethia. He had received his KCPE exam results — an impressive performance of 390 marks out of a possible 500.

On the same day he picked up his results slip, his father died. Mutethia had longed for his father, who had been ailing for quite some time, to see the report card, but it would never be.

“It was a difficult, deeply painful period,” recalls Mutethia, a fourth-year student at Egerton University, where he’s pursuing a degree in economics and statistics.

The sudden demise of his father and sole provider threw the family of five into a lurch. Not even his impressive performance in KCPE could salve the pain of losing their father; for Mutethia and his four sisters. What had promised to be the beginning of a bright chapter in the young boy’s academic life now appeared to be a foggy dream. Their mother was already hard-pressed to provide food, let alone school fees.

FORTUNATE FEW

But even in the challenges, young Mutethia kept an unshakeable belief in himself; something good would turn out, yet. The turn of events that followed would inform Mutethia’s future choices and pursuits.

He heard of a newly launched scholarship initiative by the Equity Group Foundation called Wings to Fly that targeted bright children from vulnerable backgrounds.

Mutethia was among the fortunate few from his home constituency — Tigania West in Meru County — to qualify for the comprehensive scholarship.

“That’s how I was able to join Lenana School,” Mutethia, 23, told DN2. “For the four years in school, I didn’t pay a shilling; someone else did, and this magnanimity opened my eyes to the power of giving, and reaching out to others.”

Mutethia is the founder of Youths for the Boy Child Organisation (YBCO), a registered non-governmental organisation that seeks to mentor and empower boys to become responsible, all-round individuals as they journey into manhood. The idea to establish the programme took root in 2015, soon after Mutethia graduated from high school, with a score of A- (minus). The NGO was officially registered in September 2017.

FROM BOYS TO MEN

Over the past few years, the term boy child has gained quite some agency, with organisations suddenly sprouting, each with a catalogue of jeremiads on the plight facing boys, while all attention seems to favour, even pamper, the girl child. The subject has been a favourite of talk show hosts.

To some critics, though, the discussion has crossed the threshold of relevance to the exploitive waters of cliché.

The charge is that there is too much talk, little action. Mutethia was aware of the perception when he unveiled his organisation.

In the two-year period between 2015 and 2017 before the official registration of Youths for the Boy Child Organisation, he engaged experts and mentors as he formulated action points.

“Growing up and coming into manhood without a father was credible experience,” he says. “I could relate to, and empathise with boys from backgrounds similar to mine. The good thing for me was that during my high school years, the scholarship offered a leadership congress every year and this helped mould my character as a young man,” he adds.

According to Mutethia, the initiative was from the very start engineered towards the development of the whole person, with a structure built around five pillars: good governance; education; mentorship; human rights and sustainable development goals.

“By good governance, we are championing a life of service,” Mutethia expounds, saying that as the organisation expands, they hope to secure scholarships for bright but needy boys.

“For us, it has been about mentoring and shaping boys to enter adulthood and manhood with the right information, the understanding of what it means to be a man; and that ultimately, is that one has to be responsible and a good steward.”

To achieve these goals, Mutethia engages counsellors and opinion shapers who visit schools and churches to give talks. Currently, the programme has been rolled out in Meru, Tharaka-Nithi, Laikipia, Nakuru and Embu counties, with a long-term plan for representation countrywide. The response has been encouraging, says Mutethia. “School administrations have supported us in every way possible. We have identified areas where boys hurt, and the conclusion is that neglect is the biggest villain,” he notes.

TOO STOIC TO APPROACH?

A sub-pillar of the initiative is the Father and Sons programme, which aims to engage fathers, or father figures, to play a role in the development of characters in boys especially in the formative years.

The typical African father has been accused of being too stoic and unapproachable.

“The problem is the approach,” Mutethia expounds. “Actually, in the traditional setting, in most communities, if the father was absent, an uncle or a responsible male took up the father role. This has not been the case in recent times. By engaging fathers and male guardians, we have seen gradual change where boys are free to discuss issues affecting them,” he reveals.

The menace of drug and substance abuse has been a bane to the well-being of boys and young men, one that has sabotaged the futures of otherwise promising young people.

“We have identified this problem, and it’s deeper than credited.

We have counsellors equipped to deal with this problem, finding the causes and how to mitigate it,” Mutethia says.

In additional to giving talks in schools, open barazas and churches, Mutethia has also been a featured guest on radio and TV stations, increasing his base and the reach of his gospel.

Mutethia has emerged as a leader among his peers. In secondary school he was deputy house captain. He currently serves as the brand marketer for Impact Stories — an online forum that features motivational stories by young people who have overcome odds to achieve their goals.

His leadership skills, coupled with the cause he has been championing on behalf of boys, have not gone unnoticed. About a week ago, Mutethia woke up to some good news.

It was a letter notifying him of his appointment as the Kenyan representative to the African Youth Diplomacy Forum, headquartered in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

According to the letter, the organisation brings together youths from various African countries to share ideas and exchange experiences with the goal of youth empowerment.

It is a few days before the close of third term and YBCO has pitched tent at Kunene Primary School in Meru. The audience is attentive, soaking in advice by the facilitators. In the back of the hall a young man raises his hand and asks, “What is the one thing that one should strive to excel in?”

“Well, there are many,” replies the speaker, “but you must first believe in yourself; that you are capable of excelling.”

It is something Kenton Mutethia can attest to; it is this belief that kept him going in the darkest of times, when losing a parent threatened to torpedo his boat. He now sets his sails to distant seas, to distant shores.

“It is on us to ensure our boys feel loved and empowered. It is our responsibility to empower this ‘neglected and endangered species’,” he says.

Looking back, it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that there was a cosmic, ordained path all along; the name Mutethia means “one who helps” in the Meru language. In light of his work, there couldn’t have been a more fitting name.