Understanding our experiences of fatherhood

We know about the uniforms and stationery, but one of the most important things we can help our kids prepare is their emotional toolkit. In South African classrooms and playgrounds, children learn more than the curriculum. They learn how to handle friendships, face challenges, and build skills like communication, empathy, resilience, and problem-solving. 

At a Fathers Matter workshop in Orange Farm, Heartlines facilitator, Gosiame Masike, stood at the front guiding conversations with warmth, energy and easy laugher. “Bo baba,” he began, scanning the room, “what do you do to give your child an identity?”

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.

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.

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.

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.