Fathers find their village and strengthen families

The Father’s Day holiday encourages us to stop and reflect on the importance of fatherhood and its profound effect on children and our communities. Far too many children lack the benefit of having an active and involved father.

According to census data, as of 2023, 17.8 million children, nearly one in four, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. The effects of fatherless homes are felt personally for each child who grows up without a dad present and can also cause serious issues that ripple throughout the communities where these children reside. These can include increases in runaways, behavior issues, youth in prison, substance abuse, high school dropouts, and youth suicides. Conversely, children who grow up with an active, involved, responsible father are more likely to experience enhanced maternal parenting, a positive influence on child development.

YPN has offered a Dads Program for over 30 years. In that time, we have witnessed the trials and triumphs of fatherhood through the eyes of many different families. The trials can be challenging and heartbreaking, but the triumphs can be magnificent, such as parents working together to overcome obstacles and barriers to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children. At YPN, we support parents and their children through weekly educational prenatal and parenting groups and bi-monthly home visitations with our certified Parent Educators. Elouth Imani is one of our home visitation participants and he shared his experience with YPN.

“My name is Elouth, I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the continent of Africa and grew up in Burundi. We came to the USA in 2019 as refugees and Iowa is my first state to live in and I love it. I met my wife in Africa, but our relationship started here in the USA, and we decided to get married in 2020. Now we have two adorable kids together, one boy and one girl.

“Being a parent in the USA is not easy, it is very stressful and more difficult than in Africa. In Africa, being a parent is very easy because we all believe kids are for everybody. You can leave your kids with anybody, like neighbors, friends, family members, without any cost. We don’t pay daycare there. When we had our first baby, we were scared about all the rules like how to take care of kids here in the USA. We knew that we needed to give them good love, education, health care, food, and clothing, but the question was how could we provide all of that? We decided that my wife would work from home, providing childcare, so she has more time with my kids while earning money.

“At the beginning it was hard financially, but thankfully YPN made it easy by helping us with many things like diapers, wipes, clothes, books and more, that we earned by participating in their free programs. They also provide education like safety sleep for babies, learning activities, how to change diapers, and installing car seats, all things that we didn’t have to do in Africa. We still have more to learn from them and are encouraged by the things they provide.

“I have learned that wherever you go, if you want to succeed, you need resources and connections. Thank you to YPN and all that they provide to us and how they have helped me to navigate resources and provide for my family.”

For more information about YPN programming and services, please visit www.ypniowa.org

Elouth Imani is YPN Dad, with the guidance of Eliah Madukuli, YPN African Parent Educator.