I Will Be a Different Kind of Father

Mg Mg (nickname) is not the kind of person who normally attends our Family Education Classes. He is young, single, and has no children. Yet he kept coming to the Early Childhood Education class we made available at a school in his community. Most of the other attendees were teachers at the school, or parents with children in the school. In his culture many think that caring for children and raising them is a woman’s responsibility.

But Mg Mg came to the class week after week. He eagerly participated in all of the activities and discussions. One day TinTin, our COO, asked him to tell her his story and why he kept coming to class.

“Growing up, My parents never complimented me.” He said. “They would only say ‘You’re stupid. What you think you can do in the future, huh?.'”

“I really like what I learned here. I got to reflect on how I was raised. In one of the classes I got tears in my eyes thinking about my own childhood. Learning from this class I’m motivated to be a different father when I have my own children. I will compliment, encourage, and support them in learning new things and improving their skills.”

It is so encouraging to see young men who are gaining a new mindset, who say, “I will make a difference for my future family.”

Thank you for changing the history of the next generation.

Our classes have always been open to everyone in the community, but often people think the only people who need to attend are already parents. But this isn’t true. Learning these things will equip all future parents as well older siblings who take care of their younger siblings at home while their parents go to work.

Since COVID19 the migrant schools in this area have been shut down completely. Many young people have lost an entire year of school. With nothing to do, and no long term prospects for the future, kids as young as 14 are getting married and getting pregnant.

The village leaders have asked for our help to give them something better to do. The first thing we did was to make sure that all young people know they can come to our classes also. It gives them something to do, and valuable information for whenever they start a family.

We are launching two classes specifically for youth in the coming month. The first on goal setting and planning for your future, and the second on Sexual and Reproductive Health. We have already trained teachers at several other local organizations in how to teach the second class. See video here.