Home Fathers Matter
What if we could halve father absence in a generation?
When fathers and father figures are present and positively engaged, children thrive – academically, financially, physically and emotionally – and are less likely to face mental health challenges, addiction and violence.
Heartlines Fathers Matter encourages the active, positive presence of fathers and father figures. It is the largest campaign of its kind in Africa.
Fathers Matter can be used in many different contexts to help people understand WHY fathers matter and how they can be part of changing the story of fatherhood in South Africa.
For Women
Women’s voices matter in the Fathers Matter conversation. Find out more.
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Get resources to help fathers in your organisation or community.
Read more about thisChanging lives, families and communities
Watch the trailer for the Fathers Matter films
Stories
The measure of a man is not in his fists
In many communities, the dominant image of manhood remains physical – protect, provide, endure, fight. These instincts are not inherently wrong. But they are incomplete.
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The price children pay for migrant labour
Long before we had the social discussion about father absence, South Africa had already built systems that made it normal. Men left home not because they didn’t care, but because they had to.
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Where does our violence begin?
Randall's story is about breaking cycles, particularly the one he inherited from his father. Where addiction once defined him, he has chosen differently. Where his father’s absence shaped him, he now strives to be present for his child and his mother.
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When the streets raise our boys
Despite having a father who was alive, Nkululeko did not have that consistent presence shaping his understanding of himself. And when that kind of guidance is missing, it doesn’t leave a gap for long. Something else fills it. In his case, the streets stepped in...
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What’s Papa got to do with my rage?
Father absence removes one of the first buffers against violence – a daily presence where anger is noticed, slowed down, named, and shaped before it hardens.
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Education doesn’t fail at school first
At the 2026 Department of Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, Fathers Matter had a chance to highlight children's perspectives on fatherhood – and how their father experiences can influence their education.
Read more about Education doesn’t fail at school first