‘Community fathers’ step up to make a difference in children’s lives
Fathers in the community share their experiences and build meaningful relationships with the young people in the community.
HOPING to understand children’s needs and wants from a father, the Community Fathers Sunrise initiative was held at Ansteys Beach on The Bluff recently.
The initiative was hosted through the collaborative efforts of Darian Smith (Safer Communities International and PhD student in peace studies at DUT), Craig Bouchier (Heartlines), Wayne Jean-Pierre (Freedoms SA) and Jane Wright (Hope for the Heart Pregnancy Care Centre).
Smith, who is leading the projects in Wentworth, said the initiative is a follow up to the recently held Community Fathers Engagement at the Blue Roof Centre in Wentworth.
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“At the engagement, we had men from the community share their experiences of fatherhood and we spoke to them about the role they can play in building meaningful relationships with their children and community children.
“The sunrise initiative gave the children from the community an opportunity to speak about their wants and needs to the ‘community fathers’ that were present, specifically on how they can be of better support to enable growth and development to the best of their ability. The children also expressed that they want to be safe and feel that they have a positive, caring, supportive, nurturing relationship with the fathers in the community,” he said.
Smith said they chose to have the initiative in the morning, while watching the sunrise, as it is a symbol of birth, rebirth, and of awakening.
“It symbolises the coming of light and resurrection. We aimed to build on the symbolism of a sunrise and bring hope to the ‘community fathers’ and children that a new dawn is close and that we can work at trying to be better in our relationships and how that can nurture our development in a positive constructive way,” he said.
Smith said the initiatives are part of his PhD study on ‘mobilising community fathers to co-create safe spaces’.
“The study will explore ‘community fathers’ views on community violence, its causes, and the role they can play in both reducing it and building positive meaningful relationships with the young people in the community.
“Drawing on a participatory action research (PAR) approach, guided by a qualitative methodology, the research aims to develop and facilitate positive fatherhood engagements which could lead to a programme that promotes the roles of ‘community fathers’ in order to foster positive change,” he said.
If you wish to be part of the initiative, contact Darian Smith on 084 432 1972 or sdarian95@gmail.com.
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