International Day of the Boy Child is celebrated on May 16 each year across the world. The day recognises the importance of boys’ well-being and the challenges they face, while also celebrating the positive aspects they bring to their communities and families.
Held at Busy Bees Foundation School in Kigali under the theme “Building Boys, Shaping Futures,” the JBF event brought together boys, mentors, parents, educators, community leaders, and supporters for a day focused on leadership, discipline, identity, emotional well-being, and purpose.
Participants took part in mentorship sessions, interactive discussions, games, team-building activities, inspirational talks, performances, and faith-based conversations designed to encourage confidence, healthy masculinity, and personal growth.
Speaking during the event, Martha Julian Kiiza, founder of the Julian Boys Foundation, emphasised the importance of investing in boys as future leaders.
“International Boy Child Day is more than just an event. It is a reminder that you boys are the men of tomorrow, so your voices matter, and your future matters,” she said.
“Your generation will shape the future, and that journey starts now. The kind of men you become tomorrow depends on the values you build today.”
She urged the boys to grow into young men of character, discipline, prayerfulness, and hard work, noting that the choices they make today will shape both their own futures and that of their communities and country.
Organisers said the celebration sought to create a safe and inspiring environment where boys feel seen, heard, valued, and encouraged to become responsible and purpose-driven men.
Throughout the event, facilitators led age-specific sessions focused on leadership development, emotional expression, community building, and positive social values. The atmosphere was marked by learning, encouragement, and meaningful interaction among participants.
The foundation also used the occasion to reaffirm its commitment to supporting boys from disadvantaged and underserved backgrounds through mentorship, educational support, mental health awareness campaigns, and community outreach initiatives.
The inspiration behind the foundation is deeply personal to its founder. Kiiza was moved by the silent struggles many boys and men face, including depression, substance abuse, emotional suppression, identity crises, and the impact of absentee fatherhood.
A turning point came after hearing the story of a struggling family during a 2017 youth camp in Uganda, where a father battling addiction and gambling had neglected his family, leaving his wife and children in extreme hardship. While many efforts focused on helping the abandoned wife and children, Kiiza said she began to question who was helping the broken man at the centre of the crisis.
The issue became even more personal when her own brother nearly died by suicide after battling depression, drug use, and years of unaddressed emotional pain. The experience, she said, opened her eyes to the hidden struggles affecting many boys and young men.
Those experiences eventually led to the birth of the Julian Boys Foundation, which was established with the vision of empowering boys to become exemplary men who strengthen families and transform nations.
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