19 November 2015

Daddy really a "sperm donor"?

Greetings to the room at large, the reason behind this theme is to help decrease the high statistics of absent fathers because an alarming large number of mothers throughout South Africa have to carry the burden they have left behind. Customs and tradition play a significant role in any child's life, there are some fathers who actually want to be  in their children's lives but they do not have the the financial means to pay what is known as "damages".

This blog aims to be a platform that people who are affected or infected by this situation one way or another to share their sentiments and views regarding the absenteeism of fathers in order to steer relationships filled with peace, love and harmony. It is in the best interests of a child to know his or her paternal identity and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa(which is the highest law of the land) provides that" a child's rights are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child".

Every year in South Africa the month of June is known Father's month but to millions of children across South Africa the month brings nothing but heartbreak and misery. Social media(Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc) has made it much easier for people to communicate which can be a useful tool for these so called "sperm donors" to use.

"I often kept my feelings inside and for a great amount of time I believed his absence was not a problem and my mom had to play both roles," said a visibly distraught fourteen year old Mandilakhe James, whose father left her when she was three months old.

   

 I aim to inspire men to spend more time with their children and learn from one another in other words to be "hands on dads" inorder to lift the burden off the mothers. Studies show that their absenteeism has far more reaching consequences on their, mental, psychological, physical and physiological well-being. Other schools of thoughts are that if a child's Social Grant was being controlled by their fathers every child would have a father in South Africa but that remains a school just a school of thought until it is proven.

A child did not choose to be born it was an agreement between the mother and father to engage in unsafe sexual behaviour, South African law permits abortions if done at the right time and provides free contraceptives in most clinics across countrywide. Whatever circumstances that made a person run away from his responsibilities, it is never too late to do the right thing no matter your circumstances. There is nothing worse than to be labelled a "deabeat dad".