In South Africa, curbing violence starts with showing boys their potential

A studious silence descends on the large tent that, minutes earlier, was filled with a whirlwind of activity as two dozen teenagers danced and bantered to loud South African amapiano beats. Now the boys are crouched over tables scattered with glitter and crayons, occasionally glancing up at the question scrawled on a whiteboard: “Who are you?”

Ziyaad, 13 years old, draws a red cross on a sheet of paper. “It’s my mom’s grave,” he explains to junior counselor Lutho Gcelu, who peers over his shoulder. On one side of the paper, the teen has written his deepest concern: “I do not have a mother or a father. I’m afraid