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EZULWINI - Young boys Development feel neglected.

7his was shared by young people during the roundtable discussion between pupils and policymakers held at +appy 9alley +otel on )riday.

7his was part of the country¶s commem oration of the International 'ay of the *irl &hild. 'uring the commemoration under the theme µOur time is now our right, our future¶, young people had an opportunity to state their plight and also adYice policymak ers on how they could solYe their challenges.

7he eYent was attended by the 'eputy 3rime 0inister who was represented by 0in ister of 6ports, &ulture and

'uring the roundtable, Nkosinathi 'lamini from (]ulwini &ommunity +igh 6chool not ed that of late goYernment and its deYelop ment partners had channelled a lot of proMects to the girl child. 'lamini noted that goYern ment drew focus in increasing the number of girls who got scholarships to study in tertiary institutions of their choice. +e lauded the initiatiYe as it would secure the future of the girl child. +e noted that during &O9I' while they were out of school, there were organisations which were empowering girls with skills and some distributed toiletries to girls. ³7here are a lot of empowerment programmes for the girl child,´ he said. 7he young man noted that while eYeryone focused on the girl child, the boy child was neglected in the process. +e said he felt boys needed toiletries too like the girls. +e said there were boys from struggling families who could not afford toiletries but they were not targeted in these programme, thus leaYing them to feel neglected. +e said the neglect might lead the boy child to find solace in the wrong places.

Policies

7he student pleaded with goYernment and partners to draft policies to empower the girl child but not neglect the boy child.

'lamini stated that eYen boys needed em powerment and support. 0eanwhile, /inde lihle 6ukati stated that boys were e[posed to drugs and gangs. ³*angsters start recruiting boys from primary schools,´ he said.

6ukati said the boy child also needed pro tection and, therefore, called for goYernment to build youth centres that would absorb young people and empower them with skills. +e said that would saYe the boys as well as the girls from illegal actiYities.