We live in a time where young people gain their confidence by how many likes and followers they have on social media: we want to offer them something more meaningful,” says Davis Williams, father of two and co-founder of the Manhood Academy, an organisation that offers mentoring to boys to aid what can sometimes be a rocky transition between adolescence and manhood (or adulthood).

Under the slogan “Boys are born, Men are made”, the Manhood Academy reaches out to boys from African and Caribbean communities in London whose fathers are absent or unable to provide the support and encouragement that is crucial if they are to become confident and successful men.

“A lot of young boys are growing up without fathers and lack that male imprint of principles necessary for them to make a positive move towards manhood. I can relate, as I know if I had a father figure I wouldn’t have made half the mistakes I made growing up,” Williams says.

Williams and the other founders of the Manhood Academy – including Hughie Rose, Daniel Thomas, Kehinde Ogunlabi and Khonsu Sankofa – have developed a unique mentoring service for boys aged eight to 19, with a rites-of-passage theme inspired by a life-changing visit Williams made to the Gambia in 2016 to explore his own family’s roots. Instead, he found something he hadn’t bargained for, when he saw boys undergoing a ceremony that formally marked them as men and celebrated that transition. It was so different from the experience of similar boys in this country, he says.

“I was truly humbled to witness this and something just clicked for me. This is exactly what’s missing in our community and could be the very tradition young people could benefit from.”

It was then that Williams decided to recreate a more urban rites of passage, tailored to the complex needs of boys growing up in London.

Williams has been creating drop-ins to help young people for many years, including outlets for them to air the issues that affect them. Much of what he has learned from listening to their frustrations has helped to shape what the academy now offers.

“It made me realise how boys are in most need of our attention. They just want to belong – that’s what makes football so popular among men and could possibly be why gang culture emerged. Here at the Manhood Academy we push for their success to speak louder than any stereotypes.”

The mentors are working in schools and at the Kori centre in north London. Many of the boys on the programme are referred to the academy by their school and their concerned mothers.

I visit the Manhood Academy on a Wednesday afternoon and the sweet sound of singing wafts through the community centre: “Just another healing cry, going out to you and I,” trills Albert Johnson, one of the eight co-founders, as he vacuums the space before the boys arrive.

Mentors arrange chairs in a circle. All of them are wearing striking wooden handcrafted beaded necklaces, some with a healing stone attached that hangs just above the Manhood Academy print across their sweatshirts. They discuss their intentions for the session. Johnson says: “We are committed to investing in possibilities for boys and their greatness as opposed to stereotypes. Here, we create a space where positive possibilities become realities.”

Possibility is definitely in the air as a group of boys aged between eight and 12 pile in. There is a homely feel to the academy with a sense of brotherhood among the boys.

Before this afternoon’s session – on commitment and values – can begin, the boys are required to surrender phones and hats, and each has to make his own affirmations. “I am focused!” shouts one boy as he heads towards his seat. “I am awesome!” says the next.

Mentor Rio McLaren asks them, “What are your commitments?” Then it is on to teaching the importance of committing their energy to something positive. “Commitment is loyalty to something you set out to do long after the mood you said it in has left you.”

Williams then explains to them that their core values can help them to stick at something. “It’s important for you young men to become independent of the influences of your friends and the media in order to make conscious decisions that align with values you set.”

Later, Williams tells me, “A lot of our boys value their mothers. They desperately want to step up and support them. We challenge them, saying if you value your mother, what does that look like? Is exclusion from school or bringing police to your mother’s door supporting her? Sometimes there’s a discrepancy and we mirror this to them, urging them not to jeopardise their values to impress peers.

“We teach the boys that to be successful you have to be willing to give something up. Grief, anger and even friends are just some of the things that hold them back from their true potential.”

It is clear that some of the discussions are uncomfortable. “We don’t shy away from difficult topics,” says Williams. “We urge the boys to come out of their comfort zones emotionally, because that’s how you make connections.”

The academy works through a series of modules. The first module is called Earth, “which is all about grounding boys in their core values, self belief and establishing career goals”.

The boys are currently undergoing their second module, Fire. Here they learn about anger management and emotional intelligence.

“Emotions run high on Father’s Day, there were tears and it was by far our most emotional session. It was important for us to let them cry, bottling it up only leads to emotions being displaced negatively on others.”

Each boy was asked to write a letter to his dad, with no pressure to post it. “This gives them the ability to transform their anger and sadness into the change they want to see,” says Williams.

His passion is inspiring, but where does it come from? “It all started 20 years ago when I was a football coach for Leyton Orient. I worked with many talented boys, but their attitude wasn’t healthy and it held them back tremendously.”

He is also influenced by his own childhood in the East End of London: “The community was close-knit, neighbours really looked out for us and we wouldn’t dream of doing anything too naughty, for our mothers would surely know about it before we got home.

“Today’s kids have it hard. Most aren’t allowed to play freely as we once did. The headlines breed fear. People walk past each other in the street with not so much as a hello, or good morning. Strong connections aren’t made in the community any more.

“Teens have it harder, all it takes is a wrong look, or to step on someone’s toe by mistake and it could spark trouble. The Gambia was nothing like this. The boys didn’t struggle, because they had a whole community guiding them. Schools in this country aren’t meeting the needs of young boys any more. Young people learn more from their surroundings than textbooks alone, so let’s give them some scope to broaden their way of thinking.”

The older boys at the academy now have the chance to visit the Gambia themselves, to be a part of the coming-of-age ceremony to solidify their rites of passage on a cultural exchange trip.

“The London boys will be partnered with kids their age from the Gambia and will face various challenges together in a rural setting to implement what they have learned.”

Williams admits that “many of the boys we work with have never left London, so we believe this trip will broaden their horizons as it once did mine, and put a lot of things in perspective for them moving forward in to adulthood.”

• The Manhood Academy is expanding its programme with a Parenthood and Sisterhood Academy for girls, see manhoodacademy.co.uk for more details.