Tagane Mai is not about encouraging toxic masculinity but it is about teaching young men to be a good and productive son, husband and father.
That's the comment of Inspire Pacific Founder, Ben Morrison on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan, as he says they start off the 14 week Tagane Mai Program with the Beloved Son where they teach men that they cannot be men if they are not sons and to be a son it means you belong, you honour, you respect and you love.
Morrison says the first part of the program is also learning about forgiveness and the boys' fathers come in and they try to create an environment where they can reconcile, drop the macho facade and be vulnerable.
He stresses that they teach the young men that it is okay to cry and okay to talk about your needs.
This fijivillage Straight Talk show was two years in the making after Morrison appeared on the show in 2023 speaking about the challenges faced by the youths in the country.
We finally managed to get full access at the Inspire Pacific camp to run the Tagane Mai Program in Namata, Nadroga.
Morrison who is looking for like minded people and organisations to assist troubled boys, says he understands the struggle of being a young Fijian boy and understands what it is like growing up with drugs.
He says during his teenage years from when he was 14 to 17 years, he got hooked into drugs.
He reveals that although his parents had taught him many things, he was trapped in peer pressure.
Morrison says leaving Fiji and going to America, he had to fit in and he remembers being bullied in school and the crowd that he fit into was the one that was doing drugs.
The Inspire Pacific Founder says when you are young and your friends are doing drugs, you will eventually give into the peer pressure.
He was about 14 years old when he was doing drugs, and he was then caught up in gang activity.
Morrison says when he came back to Fiji, he brought this lifestyle back and the family got a shock with the Ben that came back from the US.
He shares that he got involved to the point that he contemplated to commit suicide however he then prayed and snapped out of it.
Morrison says he could not have done it any other way and God helped him to get out of this situation.
He says after that experience, he went on a journey of discovering his potential and learning that he does not have to be who his crowd tells him to be.
Morrison did a degree in Mathematics and Software Engineering, and later became the first Fijian to pursue music at Berkley in Boston.
Morrison who is part of the Christian City Church believes all young Fijians can realize and develop and unlock their full potential.
He started his work at the Juvenile Centre and they now have leased a camp site in Nadroga for at risk boys to be part of the program.
Morrison says for those involved in drugs - you need an environment where they can detox and get on a journey to recovery.
He says the camp is nature based and they try to create a loving family environment where everything is focused on home, love and trust.
He adds that it is hard to teach someone when they do not trust you, and you need to create an environment with genuine trust and have a sense of belonging.
Morrison says Tagane Mai is about calling Pacific men to rise into their full potential and to become men that will be able to serve a role that is beneficial to the family, the society and the country
He says it has also been highlighted in his journey as a husband and a father and how he is to his wife and being not only a husband that leads but is caring, kind, supportive, loving and has a servant heart.
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