International Men’s Day Edition: Celebrating Men and Boys

Thrive Weekly Issue 39

Today, on International Men’s Day, we pause to honor the men and boys who shape our families, communities, and nation. This year’s theme, Celebrating Men and Boys, invites us to look beyond acknowledgment and toward empowerment, because in an era when emotional resilience is essential for nation-building and socio-economic sustainability, their well-being matters more than ever.

Emotional Tools To Support The Journey

Men and boys today face increasing pressure to perform, provide, succeed, and remain “strong”, often without the emotional tools to support that journey. The result? Rising mental health challenges, identity struggles-sense of self, worth, and purpose, and fractured relationships. If we want healthier homes and stronger societies, we must boldly address this reality.

Their Relationship With God

But at the very foundation of everything they must become, lies something deeper: their relationship with God…the Creator.

Spiritual grounding offers direction, identity, peace, and purpose. When men understand who they are in God, they anchor themselves to the source of wisdom, strength, and moral clarity that no external pressure can shake. A strong spiritual foundation becomes the compass for their decision-making, their leadership, their integrity, and the way they treat those around them.

What Do Our Boys And Young Men Need?

They need a new model of manhood: one that embraces emotional literacy, spiritual grounding, self-awareness, accountability, and empathy. These are not soft skills; they are success skills. When boys are taught to understand their emotions, honor their faith, and align their actions with divine purpose, they grow into men who lead with integrity, compassion, and vision.

Mindsets & Skillsets For A Thriving Future:

• A Strong Relationship with God: The foundation that shapes values, character, identity, and purpose.
• Emotional Resilience: The ability to navigate stress, bounce back, and stay centered in uncertainty.
• Healthy Masculinity: Understanding that strength includes vulnerability, empathy, and humility.
• Respect & Relationship Intelligence: The capacity to build harmonious relationships with women based on mutual respect, communication, and partnership.
• Purpose & Personal Responsibility: Cultivating meaning, accountability, and self-leadership.
• Mental and Physical Wellbeing: Recognizing that caring for their mind and body is foundational and not optional.

When men and boys develop these attributes, they don’t just transform their own lives, but also elevate the families they lead, the women they love, and the communities they support.

His Unwavering Commitment To Fighting

It’s on days like this that I reflect with love and gratitude on my incredible father, Emerson Theophilus Mings.

When I was a child, he loomed larger than life: a man of conviction, purpose, and heart. As a Trade Union leader within the OWTU (Oilfield Workers Trade Union), his unwavering commitment to fighting for the advancement of his comrades at T&TEC (Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission) shaped my earliest understanding of leadership, service, and integrity. He wasn’t just my dad; he was my first mentor…and his example continues to guide how I see the role of men in building stronger families, stronger communities, and a stronger nation.

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in His commands.
His children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.”
— Psalm 112:1–2 (NIV)

Happy International Men’s Day.
Let’s continue to Thrive…together.