Are Men Undervalued?
As women in the Western world, as a whole we are growing stronger and more independent yearly. Our need (and respect) for men seems to be diminishing. So much seems to be taken for granted. I was reflecting on this on the long flights back from Kenya recently. I’ve just spent 3 weeks volunteering at the Gabriel Learning Centre, a school and orphanage in the slums around Nakuru, in the Rift Valley.
The luckiest kids live in the orphanage. Most others go back to homes that are one room – a dirt floor, leaky corrugated iron roof, no electricity, no running water, and often no food. The one drop toilet services 10 families – about 100 people. That one toilet isn’t safe to use dusk to dawn due to predatory men. Alcoholism, violence and lack of empathy, let alone love, for women and children is rife.
Those fortunate enough to attend school 7:30 am – 4:30pm are safe, well fed, receive medical care and become strong enough to play, run, jump and climb. They love football (soccer). They learn their 2nd and 3rd languages, KiSwahili and English, and have the chance to educate themselves out of the slum, or at least earn a living in their own business or perhaps gain a job in town. At Gabriel’s the majority of the children meet their first positive adult male role models, and learn to respect themselves and others.
Reflecting on all this on the long flights home, I thought how in Australia how much we undervalue education and sports, as children and as adults, because it’s so readily available, compulsory even. We also often undervalue those who dedicate their lives, their careers and give freely of their spare time to teaching our next generation of leaders in the classroom and on the sporting fields. The teachers, the sporting club volunteers.
With the fresh contrast between Kenya and Australia, most of all I realised how undervalued our men are, how we take for granted the majority are hard-working decent human beings. That on the whole, it is safe to walk the streets alone. We can expect respect. We take for granted our daughters will have a choice of decent men to marry and raise children, if they wish.
As I look around at the men in my life, both personal and business, the majority are decent guys, kind hearted and caring in their own ways. They work hard, and do their best to work out who they are, what roles they are meant to fulfil, in our rapidly changing world.
Yes, there are men who rape, bash and murder, who are paedophiles, however I feel we tend to forget that in our society we are blessed they are the minority not majority. I personally am more aware and more grateful, and intentionally am expressing that more often, to the men in my world. And yes, good men are born and bred, so nurturing our boys to be strong and vulnerable is all part of the bigger picture.
