‘Let’s give fathers needed attention’
Father’s Day is celebrated on different dates in different countries, to honour all fathers for everything they do for their children.
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The event is celebrated in most countries, such as the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Ghana, on the third Sunday of June to enable children to express gratitude to their fathers for all their love and support.
However, unlike Mothers’ Day, celebrated in most countries with pomp and circumstance on the second Sunday of May to honour mothers for their care, love and support for their children and families in general. Father’s Day celebrations, particularly in Ghana, are often given less prominence even though most fathers play key roles in their families and need to be celebrated.
Christian Council of Ghana
In a statement, the Christian Council of Ghana stressed the need to give fathers the needed attention as the country celebrates this year’s Father’s Day on Sunday.
The Council is of the view that very little attention has been given to dealing with the needs and challenges of fathers in the country in spite of the significant roles they play in building strong families for national development.
A statement signed and issued by Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, the General Secretary, said “As a nation, it is time for us to develop special programmes to support the needs and developments of fathers to enable them to play their roles effectively as the heads of their homes.”
It said the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection should begin to focus on addressing some of the challenges confronting fathers, and also urged member churches to strengthen their Men’s Fellowships/Ministries and support them with the necessary resources for their development.
“As we join fathers around the world to celebrate Father’s Day, we urge fathers who have relinquished their responsibilities towards their families to renew their minds and take up their headship roles in meeting the welfare needs of their dependents,” it said.
The Council wished the father of the nation, His Excellency President John Mahama, and every father in Ghana a blessed Father’s Day, and also advised fathers to strive to raise their children in the fear of the Lord and contribute to the building of the next generation of Ghanaians who are morally sound, patriotic and equipped to develop the nation and the world as a whole.
Gender Ministry
In another statement, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has congratulated all fathers, especially single-parents, and persons who have stood in for others as fathers, on the occasion of Father’s Day.
The statement signed by Mr Abraham Asare, the Communications Advisor, indicated that to curb the challenges of maintenance issues in Ghana, the ministry was planning to establish a child support unit that would ensure that parents were made to provide support for their children.
It said statistics from the Department of Social Welfare (DSW), now Department of Social Development (DSD), under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, showed that some fathers had shirked their responsibilities, indicating that in 2014, as many as 7,259 maintenance cases were reported to the department.
“But as we mark Father’s Day, we implore fathers to take up their responsibilities for the sake of posterity,” it said, adding that fathers were far more than just ‘second adults’ in the home, indicating that fathers influence their children through the quality of their relationship with the mother of their children.
Good relationship
“It is believed that a father who has a good relationship with the mother of his children is more likely to be involved and to spend time with his children. They in turn, will have children who are psychologically and emotionally healthier,” the statement indicated.
According to the statement, many Ghanaian fathers have played their roles well, adding that apart from paying school fees and other bills to keep the family going, the ministry would like to encourage fathers to work on creating a good environment in the home for their children, to help keep the family together to raise confident children.