Stories – Fathers Matter

Rethinking Fatherhood, Gender, and Masculinity in South Africa: A Symposium on Youth Perspectives

On 29 October 2025, Heartlines, in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance hosted the Rethinking Fatherhood, Gender, and Masculinity in South Africa symposium.

Hey dads, big news about parental leave

Fathers Matter encourages men to play an active and positive role in their children’s lives by developing skills around caregiving and emotional presence. The new law about parental leave is an opportunity for fathers to do exactly that from the very beginning, creating space for both parents to share the work and the joy of raising a newborn.

When your father seems like a different man as a grandfather

No two generations of fathers raise their children in quite the same way. Andile’s experience shows that the next chapter of fatherhood is written by choosing how to carry the good parts of the past forward while changing the parts that caused harm.

When love learns a new language: Parenting a child with a disability

To every parent raising a child with a disability: You’re not behind. You’re not cursed. You’re not alone. You’re raising a masterpiece, one who might look different, sound different and move differently, but who who carries divine purpose in every breath.

Listening to the next generation in Gqeberha

Gqeberha youth share candid truths about growing up without fathers and forging their own identities as young leaders.

Bloemfontein's call to action for families

This August, a community called Batho in Bloemfontein became the centre of a powerful conversation about fatherhood, accountability, and community.

How do we celebrate our young girls, not at the expense of the boy child?

The question of celebrating young girls without sidelining boys is a hot topic. And it deserves real thought, because the last thing we want is to solve one problem by creating another.

How the women in my life have made me a better father

Many South African men are reshaping what it means to be a father. Their growth has not only been influenced by the men who came before them, but by the women who stepped in, stood beside them, and quietly shaped their understanding of care, love and responsibility.

Confronting the Fatherhood Crisis in North West

How theatre, film and honest conversation can help pastors, fathers and leaders across the North West to rebuild fatherless communities from within.

Sometimes, the courage try again is the greatest legacy of all

Lutho’s story reminds us that fatherhood is not always soft, and love is not always easy to recognise. But even in the cracks, even in the hard edges, there is something to be learned.

Empowering fathers in the Northern Cape

The Fathers Matter Ambassadors Conference in Kimberley in the Northern Cape was a time for fathers in the region to come together to be equipped, encouraged and challenged to be fathers who are present, active and positive in children's lives.

The father I needed, the grandfather my son got

Khulile's father showed love through work, not words. He put food on the table but missed every school play, every soccer game. Now retired, that same man doesn't miss a single match when his grandson plays. This contrast is something Khulile still finds difficult to come to terms with.