Carol Ofori chats to the founder of Fathers of Africa
In honour of Father's Day later this month, Carol Ofori spoke to the founder of Fathers in Africa, Kevin Rutter.
Nelson Mandela, the father of our nation, said, "To be the father of a nation is a great honour, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy."
This June, Carol Ofori is highlighting the importance of fathers in our lives and celebrating their roles in being present in their children's lives.
Carol chatted with a man who is making a difference in how fathers are seen and supported in Africa—the founder of Fathers in Africa, Kevin Rutter.
Established in 2006, Fathers in Africa is a non-profit organisation. They believe that the most significant family/social problem facing South Africa is 'fatherlessness'.
"The lack of responsible fathering (male mentorship) has contributed significantly to the socialisation of young men into a “toxic” masculinity, manifesting with high rates of rape, gender based violence, violence against children, teen pregnancies, substance abuse and other crime," says Fathers in Africa.
Rutter started his conversation with Carol by saying, " We know that in South Africa, more than 60% of children grow up without their dads, so our mission really is to reconnect millions of dads with their children to highlight the importance of fatherhood."
Rutter spoke about their work and highlighted the lack of support for fathers. Not all males are encouraged to talk about how they feel from a young age, which sets a precedent for how they deal with their responsibilities.
It's not often highlighted, but the role of fathers is broad and can be nurturing, caring, and loving. It is not compartmentalised to just being a provider and protector. " There's nothing wrong with men being involved in nappy changing, holding your child skin-to-skin, doing the bathing time, reading stories with them, et cetera. So the role of fatherhood is quite broad and quite wide-ranging", said Rutter.
Rutter also mentioned a study by British psychologist Laverne Antrobus, which found that when men discovered their partners were expecting, their testosterone levels dropped by 30%. While the specifics of the study were not discussed, it revealed that becoming a father can lead to becoming more nurturing and caring.
Listen to the full interview on the podcast above.
We asked Carol to share a bit about fathers' significant role in our communities and the work that 'Fathers in Africa' are doing.
I first encountered Fathers in Africa on my TV show, Raising Babies 101, and I just found that the work that they do to support fatherhood and the journey was amazing. I think Kevin Rutter and his team do great work. Society tends to forget the importance of fathers and their role in children's development. Also, from a psychological perspective, physical perspective, and every element of the child's growth, the mother and the father have significant roles to fulfil for those children. And I think the saddest element of society is that a lot of children don't get an opportunity to have relationships with their fathers, and only in later life does this come back to literally haunt them.
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