MWANIKI’S THURSDAY THOUGHT

A FATHERS AND SONS GATHERING

In the month of June 2024 I was invited to speak at a Father-Son Gathering at the prestigious DAWAMU ACADEMY in Kajiado County along the Kiserian-Isinya Road. There was a sizeable number of fathers and father-figures who had made the time to be with their sons on this day. And I had two nephews there too, one of the reasons why I quickly agreed to the invitation. The boy-child needs as much support and role-modeling as he can get to prepare him for the real world “out there”.

My short exhortation to the gathering was for us to embrace and champion values. What holds us true at our core as men is our values. “Manners maketh Man”. “A man is as good as his word”. A man with decorum and candor, stands head and shoulders over the undisciplined and ill-mannered.

I used an acronym in fun that made them laugh so that they would remember it.

HAHA HIHI HEHE HO Laughter you may ask? I’ll have you know that this “laugh” is a complete sentence in the Kikuyu dialect which translates “Is it cold here, or what?” That was the “fun” part. The “remember” part dealt with values and went like this:

A - ACCOUNTABILITY – the need to be vulnerable with trusted key persons who have your interests at heart. Who tell you the truth whether good or bad - Armor bearers who carry you when you are sick and who will bury you when you die. This calls for TRUST, HUMILITY and INTENTIONALITY. - ACTION – Decisive bravery is an attribute necessary for men – non cowardly ability to do the right thing at the right time, measuring out the consequences with wisdom

E - EXCELLENCE – Do everything as unto God – Continuous self-improvement… New skills, new hobby, sharpening abilities - Honest hard work of your hands. The sweat of your brow will yield the fruit of the season - EMPATHY - put yourself in the other person's shows, brotherhood, comradery, loyalty, gentleness, mindfulness, generosity

I - INTEGRITY – Truthful! Just tell the truth… Doing the right thing at the right time - make your habits then your habits will make you - IMPACT - what legacy are you generating, make footprints daily – paying it forward

O - ORDER - God! The Master of the Universe. Man's duty is to create order as the image of God! We need DISCIPLINE to accomplish this – Master yourself so that you may master the world. The organs need to do what the organs are supposed to do! Jishinde Ushinde! H - HONOUR – There is no honour among thieves. Be found nowhere near them. Let your word be your bond. Be honourable… ?DEPENDABLE, FORTHRIGHT, GENTLE

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We enjoyed our time together and played lots of games and ate lots of nyama! My take home, gents, was that let’s take time and mentor our young men in our spheres of influence. Especially, where there is no father figure in the picture. Teenage boys need a father figure.