More than 3,000 South African fathers were served in the last year, thanks to a program run by local pregnancy help centers.
The South Africa Pregnancy Help Network shared the positive impact of its Legacy Dad program via an email update last month, just in time for Father’s Day. Daniele Gradwell, the organization’s executive director, said in the message to supporters that the announcement came as the world “celebrate[d] dads—birth, adopted, role models and father figures.”
“The Legacy Dad program offered at pregnancy help organizations empowers dads to be more emotionally and physically present in their children’s lives,” Gradwell said, noting that 3,394 have been served through the initiative since June 2023.
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She added that the program is boosted by fathers who “show up and step up” to participate in pregnancy help initiatives, describing “many of them” as individuals who “have experienced fatherlessness and don’t really have a clear idea of what it takes to be a present and active father to their children.”
“Programs such as Legacy Dad seek to change the narrative,” Gradwell noted, sharing a story from one program leader about the positive impact of support groups.
This leader shared “many” men and women “find themselves unable to parent effectively, yet they are trapped by the stigma and judgment that surround this admission.” Those who wrestle with their vocation therefore “continue to struggle in silence, believing that to confess their difficulties is to fail.”
“In a world that is increasingly isolating, where communities that once stood together now drift apart, these families are slipping through the cracks,” the program leader said. “They become another statistic, another story of what could have been if only there had been a little more support, a little more understanding.”
Gradwell also referenced data from StatsSA, which shows that “South Africa can be described as a fatherless country.”
According to these statistics, 21.3% of all children in the nation do not reside with their parents and only one-third of them “lived with both parents.” A majority of South Africa kids (42%) lived with their mothers, compared to only 4% that lived “only with their fathers.”
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The success of the Legacy Dad program comes amid the South Africa Pregnancy Help Network’s markedly impactful pro-life efforts overall, which served over 14,000 in 2023.
The organization, founded in 2000, seeks to “support and provide emotional help and practical assistance to families impacted by an unplanned pregnancy and provide a safe place to land.”
In addition to the Legacy Dad program, South Africa Pregnancy Help Network serves adoption agencies, maternity homes and pregnancy help centers across the nation as well as providing training for several other ministry, client service, and leadership development programs.
