Our vision is to: raise self-esteem in boys, support and encourage men as role models and empower boys to reach their full potential in school, work, and family, and to contribute positively in their local communities. Underpinning this our director and delivery team work to a number of principles and values that uphold our work and are vital to our day-to-day interactions with our participants and stakeholders. These include valuing the role of family and the role of the father, acting honestly and with integrity, taking personal responsibility, believing in people and enabling others to achieve their full potential. We currently deliver a innovative programme providing a challenging range of activities designed so that a man (Dad, another male relative, family friend) can work together with the boy (referred party) to build trust, communication and confidence.
The camp gives participants space to spend focused time with each other and receive support and encouragement from others, peers and volunteer mentors/ facilitators. Six-week Relationship Building Courses are also a main part of our programme. These combine an adventure activity such as learning to climb with fathering/mentoring skills training, offering 2 hours of directed contact time per week. Also, integral to the programme, is 5 - 8 Saturday morning events and activities (such as kayaking, bowling, hiking, archery, climbing, theatre visit, electronics workshops) offered throughout the year. This is to support and maintain the man and boy relationship as it develops, offer an opportunity to meet with MAN&BOY facilitators and maintain relationships with peers met on other camps and courses. Ongoing contact by email and telephone is made to conduct periodic assessments (to measure our impact) of the man and boy relationship looking at key areas such as improvements in the boy’s self-esteem, confidence, and communication skills and developments in the man’s skills of mentoring, understanding and listening to presenting issues and helping the boy to manage them. Currently, we provide 6 camps per year that cater for up to 12 families each (24 individuals), 4 relationship-building courses which cater for up to 8 families each (16 individuals) and 8 reunion events which can each cater for up to 15 families (30 individuals).
