Best fathers to be rewarded
ALEXANDRA – Adapt will host a ceremony to reward Alexandra's best fathers.
Agisanang Domestic Abuse Prevention and Training (Adapt) will host the Best Fathers Competition on 18 June at the Alex Campus of the Central Johannesburg College at the corner of 13th Avenue and Vincent Tshabalala Road.
The event will start at 9am and Adapt, a Section 21 non-profit women’s organisation, is a legally recognised entity whose initial focus was on providing counselling and support for abused women.
The beneficiaries of the service have, over the years been expanded to include men, the elderly and young people. Adapt’s youth programme co-ordinates various projects in high schools in Alexandra and runs class workshops on gender-based violence through the Young Women’s Movement and Best Fathers Competition.
Adapt said it has come to the organisation’s attention that girl children are mostly exposed to sexual violence – particularly incest, and Adapt is of the opinion that positive stories need to be highlighted to create positive male role models in the communities to counteract the negative reporting of men sexually abusing their children, especially girls.
The Best Fathers Competition with its theme, Fathers are parents too is a strategy to celebrate positive and good fathers in the Alexandra community.
This is the flipside of always hearing about the high rate of incest taking place in the community. Through this project, the organisation is making a deliberate effort to encourage community members to tell positive stories rather than focusing on social ills, said Adapt’s Seipati Mogorosi.
Grade 8 and 9 female pupils at KwaBhekilanga Secondary School and Realogile High School were requested to write essays on why they think their fathers or any other male figure in their lives, are the best.
The essays were then moderated externally during the first two weeks of June and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 18 June.
Adapt has invited girl children, fathers, organisations in the gender sector, business, media and the entire community of Alexandra to come and witness this event and the award ceremony for the Best Father Competition.
Details: Seipati Mogorosi or Sidwell Sehoana 011 786 6608; seipati.adapt@gmail.com; sidwell.adapt@gmail.com
