Growing up, community service wasn’t an occasional event, it was a way of life. My family lived by the belief that giving does not always mean money; it is often time, empathy, and simply being present. My sister and I spent weekends volunteering at my mother’s nonprofit for the visually challenged and were active members of the Rotaract Club. Birthdays and festivals always included giving back, whether it was supporting a child’s education or sharing a meal with someone in need.
I am blessed to have a life partner who shares these values. Together, we have continued to give back, and one cause close to my heart is men’s mental health. From an early age, I noticed how boys were expected to suppress emotions, trained by society to “be strong.” Later, in the corporate world, I saw how we created space for women’s voices but left men behind in silence.
True equality means uplifting everyone. Emotional wellbeing is not a gendered issue; it is a human one.
We must teach boys it is okay to cry, to seek help, to talk. When we support men, we support families, communities, and women too.
They say, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman.” I believe the reverse is also true – behind every successful woman, there are men who believed in her.
Let us raise boys and girls who believe in mutual support. That is how we create opportunity, not by waiting for it to knock, but by building the door ourselves.
