Men can recharge at 200% Foundation

Manogari Nogz Moonsammy is a certified trauma counsellor and life coach and an ordained chaplain who has worked closely with law enforcement.

She is often called out to crime and trauma scenes.She has counselled victims of rape, trauma violence and abuse for over 15 years and has gained the vast experience in the field.

She has identified these three key challenges:

• There is no facility or shelter to accommodate male victims. Most shelters only cater to women and children.

Social workers battle to place them and if the Salvation Army is full, the men are at a complete loss and left on the streets.

• There is no trauma debriefing for male law enforcement, EMS or reaction officers from their management once they have completed a tragic/intense crime scene.

The non-existence of post-traumatic debriefs result in men seeking other forms of stress management; 95 per cent of the time these are negative outlets and take the form of substance or drug abuse, domestic violence, gambling or prostitution.

The high suicide rate among law enforcement is a direct testament to this.

• While being able to counsel, assist and “fix” the women and children, it serves zero purpose if they have to go back to the same abusive male.

This is like treating the symptom but not addressing the root cause.

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The longer men are left ignored and neglected, the problems in our society will persist.

Moonsammy added that men are taught from a young age not to cry, to always be strong and not to show emotions.

“Showing emotions or crying is associated with weakness and being somewhat inferior or less masculine.

“This stifling and bottling up of emotions and suppression of anger and built-up energy is what leads to many men having breakdowns, committing suicide or exposing their loved ones to violent crimes.”

Having identified that men’s wellness, in general, is left ignored is what led to the creation of the 200% Foundation.

The key focal points of the NPO are:

• An institution that recognises the need for men to be acknowledged, accommodated, treated and restored.

• They aims to provide structures, frameworks and support systems to help the millennium male exist and thrive.

•They address issues and provide solutions and insight into modern-day challenges men face.

The organisation provides the following community outreach programmes:

The Millennium Male Programme

Senior male citizens  once they have served their purpose and reached pensionable age, they somehow become of less value to our society.

The Senior Citizens Wellness Programme is a method of restoring worth, dignity and respect, and providing stimulation for the elderly while promoting a sense of brotherhood.

The Youth Mentorship Programme

It is aimed at mentoring, growing, developing and building youth in distress, such as at government schools.

Issues experienced range from parental abandonment, drugs, substance abuse, HIV-infected parents and some students heading their households from the age of 16.

The Millennium Male Mentorship Model has been designed to groom, guide and help these young troubled males flourish into proactive and productive learners who inspire positive change and add value to our society.

It includes subjects like sexuality, grooming, etiquette, conduct, respect and achieving your full potential.

The Unemployment Male Programme

This programme is aimed at skills development and job readiness.

The outreach also prepares the male for an actual interview and will accommodate by providing appropriate corporate clothing for men who do not have any suitable clothing.

This programme focuses on health, hygiene and self-care.

The dignity bags are aimed at restoring personal hygiene and cleanliness.

The organisation is open to all law enforcement officers as well as to men exposed to extreme stress and fatigue.

The foundation is not a rehabilitation centre, but rather a “recharge” facility that will teach men life skills development and how to unleash their full potential while processing stress and anger towards a healthier and sustainable channel.

The last highlight of this foundation is the actual facilitators.

While the medical and professional subjects are left to the professionals and specialists, life coaches, social workers and counsellors make up a unique team of retired professionals who will be coached and trained accordingly.

These are all retired fire chiefs, brigadiers, captains, colonels and women and men who have served and held a rank.

“Not only do they understand firsthand what our clients are facing, but some of them even have the battlescars and gunshot wounds.

“Because of this reason, they can get through and have a greater impact on the men and women dealing with these circumstances,” said Moonsamy.

All facilitators are fully trained and suitably skilled to perform these functions.

“Our men are in distress and problems will continue to escalate unless addressed,” she added.

The centre also accommodates women and children and have female life coaches to assist.