Being African, we can often end up being disappointed with our fathers because we are so influenced by the Hollywood version of what a good dad is. The Hollywood dad is a hugger and tells you that he loves you every day.
Most of our fathers are simply not like that. Most of us have an almost holy respect for our fathers. They are not our buddy. They have high expectations of us and disappointing them can seem like the end of the world! Above all, however, every good father is the solid rock on which his children stand. He is the fire of protection that surrounds them; the reason one becomes brave enough to try; because instinctively one knows, that there is a warrior who will always fight for them.
Mapula Maruapula, a recent iQ Academy graduate shares her story in honour of her father. She writes: “I was a student at a local college when I fell pregnant with my first child. My parents were disappointed, and I was forced to stop schooling. I had brought shame to my family and I was not allowed to go back to school. I became worried as I noticed the time was passing me by and I was sitting at home doing nothing. I ran into an iQ Academy advert. I enrolled for a Higher Certificate Qualification in Human Resource Management, and I told them that my father would pay. I did not tell my father that I was enrolling and needed him to pay, so when iQA called him he was ignoring the calls and told them to stop calling him. I arranged for iQ Academy to call him on my mother’s phone. He didn’t want to pay for me at first, because he felt I had wasted my time and his money when I fell pregnant. After a while, being a compassionate father, he too saw that my future was at stake. He decided that he was going to pay. Now I am a graduate, I could not have a bigger cheer leader than my father! He swells with pride at my achievement. No matter how difficult our road has been, he has been my rock.”
We honour our fathers this Father’s Day, not because they are perfect, but because they watch over us and make way for a better future!
