In this Mandela Day feature, Sylvester Mashilo, founder of the Sylvester Mashilo Foundation, reflects on his campaign to end fatherlessness and promote intentional fatherhood in South Africa. He explains the significance of the Fatherhood Run, an initiative that began in 2022 when he ran 670 kilometers over 27 days in honor of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. In 2023, Mashilo ran 67 kilometers across Johannesburg to raise awareness of the systemic challenges linked to absent fathers and their profound impact on children.

Mashilo draws from his personal journey, sharing that he was born from rape, which shaped his understanding of both trauma and resilience. He emphasizes the need for men to take responsibility for being present, compassionate fathers, challenging toxic masculinity and breaking cycles of abandonment. According to Stats SA’s 2017 Household Survey, over 61 percent of South African children grow up without an active father, with the percentage rising above 70 percent among black South Africans. Mashilo highlights how this absence leads to anger, identity struggles, and vulnerability in young boys.

Through his foundation, he mentors boys aged 8 to 16, focusing on teaching them compassion, responsibility, and positive masculinity. He acknowledges the extraordinary efforts of single mothers but stresses that they cannot replace the unique role of a father. Mashilo’s mission is to inspire dialogue, mobilize men, and ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience fatherhood in action—not just as a title, but as a daily practice of care and presence.

In this interview, Sylvester Mashilo, Managing Director of the Sylvester Mashilo Foundation, speaks candidly about his transformation from a man trapped in cycles of abuse, anger, and destructive behavior to a leader advocating for rehabilitation and positive change.

Mashilo recounts his painful childhood, marked by abuse and the absence of his biological father. At age 35, he learned he was conceived through rape, a revelation that deepened his understanding of the unhealed trauma carried by his mother. Growing up in an abusive household, he internalized pain, which later manifested in harmful actions—violence, infidelity, and exploitation of vulnerable women. He acknowledges that he was “part of the problem,” embodying the toxic masculinity and brokenness that fuel South Africa’s gender-based violence and crime crisis.

His turning point came at a moment of despair when he contemplated suicide. Confronted with the reality of his destructive life, he confessed to his wife about his infidelity, an act that forced him onto a path of change. He describes this as a covenant with God: a decision to either transform or lose his life entirely.

Mashilo emphasizes that men who commit crimes are not beyond redemption but require compassion, psychosocial support, and accountability. He highlights how abuse often creates abusers and insists that addressing root causes—childhood trauma, lack of role models, poverty, and hopelessness—is essential. Rehabilitation, he argues, is possible through forgiveness, community mobilization, and internal transformation.

Closing the discussion, Mashilo underscores the power of self-forgiveness. While others’ forgiveness provides release, the most profound change comes when individuals see the good within themselves and commit to daily work toward transformation. Through his foundation, mentoring, and public speaking, Mashilo advocates for ending cycles of violence and building safer, stronger communities in South Africa.

In this interview, Sylvester Mashilo, founder of the Sylvester Mashilo Foundation, discusses his organization’s efforts to combat South Africa’s ongoing crisis of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide. His foundation was established from both personal experience of violence and an acknowledgment that the country suffers from systemic levels of abuse, crime, and family breakdown. At the core of his message is the belief that every man was once an innocent boy, and addressing GBV requires preventing young boys from growing into perpetrators by teaching them different models of masculinity.

Mashilo highlights the Fatherhood Run, held on November 26 at Featherbrook Village Shopping Centre, aligned with the UN’s “16 Days of Activism” campaign. Using running as both a symbolic and practical tool, the event raises awareness while funding mentorship programs for boys aged 8 to 16. Proceeds from ticket sales support initiatives aimed at fostering positive manhood and ending cycles of violence.

He emphasizes that true change requires more than symbolic campaigns or policy documents—it requires daily activism and community involvement. Mashilo points out that most rapes in South Africa occur in homes, underscoring the urgency of addressing violence at the family and community level. He calls for men to stop looking away when problematic behavior occurs, to challenge harmful peer culture, and to report abuse rather than conceal it within families.

While acknowledging gaps in policing and justice systems, Mashilo argues that sustainable solutions lie in community mobilization, mentorship, and cultural change. He stresses that passivity and silence make people complicit, and only through collective responsibility can South Africa shift from being one of the most violent societies to a safer, more compassionate one.

The foundation adopts the UN’s “Orange the World” campaign, using orange as a symbol of non-violence and hope. By combining awareness events with practical mentorship and daily activism, Mashilo’s mission is to build a generation of men who use their power for good, not abuse.