- Where Men Reflect, Heal & Grow
Men deserve a new story rooted in CARE.
DearMen is a Boys Champions initiative working with men aged 18 to 65. It promotes caring masculinity and wellbeing across Nigeria through community, peer learning, and honest conversation.
- OUR WHY
The world needs men who lead with CARE.
In Nigeria, the rules of being a man are inherited and rarely questioned. Boys learn early that strength means silence and that asking for help is a kind of failure. Those norms travel through generations, and the behaviours follow.
DearMen works with men to question what they were taught, change what no longer serves, and become the kind of men their families need
70%
of gender-based violence in Nigeria is perpetrated by men known to the survivor - not strangers, but fathers, partners, and neighbours.
1 in 3
Nigerian men have never had an honest conversation about their mental health. The silence is not strength. It is a crisis.
58%
of suicide deaths globally are men, according to the World Health Organization - a consequence of cultures that punish vulnerability.
- OUR APPROACH
We help men grow, heal and live with care through:
Reflection
DearMen creates safe spaces for men to examine the stories, traditions, and systems that shaped their ideas of masculinity, and to question what no longer serves them or their communities.
Conversation
Through structured men’s circles and peer-led dialogues, our participants engage in honest conversations about fatherhood, mental health, identity, and what it means to lead with empathy.
Actions
DearMen offers our participants an opportunity to put all they have learned into actions. Through community projects, leadership training, and real-world accountability, they become the men their communities need and deserve.
Examining the stories that shaped us
Safe spaces to listen, share, and grow
Turning awareness into daily action
- OUR APPROACH
How we help
men grow.
Reflection
DearMen creates space for men to examine the stories, traditions, and systems that shaped their ideas of masculinity, and to question what no longer serves them or their communities.
Examining the stories that shaped us
Conversation
Through structured men’s circles and peer-led dialogue, members engage in honest conversations about fatherhood, mental health, identity, and what it means to lead with empathy.
Safe spaces to listen, share, and grow
Transformation
Men don’t just reflect, they act. Through community projects, leadership training, and real-world accountability, they become the men their communities need and deserve.
Turning awareness into daily action
- Strategic Priorities
How we are building a new generation of caring men.
Here is how we are creating safe spaces for men striving to heal, become great fathers, and live with care.
Our Impact
200+
Fellows
Nationwide
And across West Africa
20,000+
Podcast Listeners
Men's Circles
Grassroots circles in schools, campuses, prisons, and faith spaces where men meet to talk and heal. Ten now run regularly, reaching men most programmes never touch.
Fellowship
A six month fellowship turning young men into empathetic leaders through mentorship and community projects. 200+ fellows so far.
Media - Podcast & Radio
Honest conversation on fatherhood, mental health, identity, and leadership, with voices that challenge men to grow. 20,000+ people listen every month.
Summits
Annual gatherings where educators, policymakers, and changemakers reimagine manhood and gender justice. Over 300 men joined the last one.
- OUR ROOTS
Born from a dream of raising caring men.
DearMen was born out of Boys Champions. While Boys Champions nurtures boys in schools and communities, The DearMen engages men, families, and institutions to continue that journey into manhood.
Both share the dream of raising caring men who respect women, nurture families, and strengthen communities – equipping them with the emotional tools, leadership capacity, and community needed to be the change.
2020
Founded by
Boys Champions
"I am 52 years old. Until this room, nobody had ever asked me how I was doing."
- Participant, Men's Circle
- Community in Action
Learn, Reflect and Grow
- Take Action