BOYS-to-MEN Mentorship Camp

Across Africa, and Uganda in particular, the boy child stands at the center of a silent but growing crisis. There is an undeniable social time bomb.

While society expects men to lead, provide, and protect, many boys are falling dangerously short of these expectations. The problem is not their potential, but the absence of consistent, meaningful mentorship needed for that transition.

A 2024 Makerere University study paints a painful reality: 95% of Ugandan fathers are not meaningfully involved in their children’s lives. This vacuum leaves boys feeling as though they don’t matter enough. As a result, they become more vulnerable to poor peer influence, addiction, emotional instability, crime, poverty, and a distorted sense of manhood. With few trusted role models, many boys grow up angry, confused, and disconnected from their purpose. Uganda’s demographic explosion compounds the challenge.

Over 700,000 youth enter the job market every year, but fewer than 13% secure formal employment. As foreign aid shrinks and NGO jobs decline, millions of young men are left unprepared to support themselves, their families, or their nations. Yet, in this abyss of purposelessness, many still start romantic relationships, often ending up with wives and children they cannot afford to take care of. The majority of these are teenage pregnancy cases, whose rates are rising. The girls are forced out of school as boys roam free.

Without urgent intervention, we risk producing a broken generation of men, lost in cycles of anger, violence, dysfunction, sexual irresponsibility and poverty. The Boys-To-Men Mentorship Camp exists to break that cycle. It provides structured, holistic mentorship that prepares boys (8 to 25 years) to live fulfilling lives as they transition to manhood. Once at the Camp, the boys and young men are clustered into age categories  (8-10, 11-13, 14-17, then 18-25) to improve learning. 

They cover topics such as mindset, habits, trauma healing, addictions, responsible sexual behavior, self-reliance, financial literacy, business ideation, sales, marketing, leadership, entrepreneurship, understanding parental love, dealing with peer pressure, building meaningful networks, purpose and accountability, and practical skills like liquid soap making, baking, chapati making, cooking, among others.

On the closing day of these 7-day residential camps, parents and guardians are invited for a free session on how to raise boys more effectively, taking into account the topics covered. Among several other sessions, they learn from facilitators and each other how to build emotional connection with their sons, increase trust, ensure open communication, co-parent (especially where fathers and mothers don’t live together), and how to support their sons in overcoming addictions and becoming financially independent.

The Boys-to-Men Mentorship is an initiative which has impacted thousands of young people through camps and school outreaches so far. Banio Luiji Nobert who is the lead facilitator at this program works with a team of  staff (facilitators), alongside carefully selected credible guest speakers and mentors who visit the boys for short sessions.  Participants interact also interact with counsllors and life coaches.These strengthen learning, inspiration and role modelling