By: Zethu Gweva
To address the social ills that have engulfed Mdantsane, founder of the Mdantsane Gentlemen’s Nights, Mandla Ntlanganiso, will launch the first annual Mdantsane Gentleman’s Night at Emdeni Meat Corner in Mdantsane NU8.
According to Ntlanganiso, they want to embrace brotherhood, promote excellence, celebrate success, create a platform for role models for boys, celebrate game changers in business, sport, arts, culture, and community builders.
Mdantsane is the second biggest township in South Africa which is popularly known for producing renowned sports champions, particularly in boxing, politicians, and musicians.
Ntlanganiso said he wants to gather men from various walks of life such as sports, business, corporate sector, politics, and academia in order to drive nation-building and have role models for the young boys of Mdantsane.
He added that they want to stop the behaviour of only focusing on a girl child but also include the boy child.
“Gentlemen are key when it comes to nation-building. For any nation to prosper, men need to be in the forefront to give direction and provide leadership for families, communities and the nation to grow and move forward,” he said.
In addition, Ntlanganiso said the mission for the Mdantsane Gentlemen’s Nights is to embrace brotherhood as their motto states, ‘I am my brother’s keeper,’ and to celebrate each others success as brothers.
He expressed that there is an issue of employment, crime and drug use in Mdantsane.
“We will utilize this platform as a tool to help us come up with ideas on how to assist communities as we can see young boys who have lost hope. We also want to promote excellence to show the youth of Mdantsane that your background does not decide or define your future,’’ he said.