It may appear outdated to many who are deeply opposed to the notion that men and women are bound by specific roles in the family, but for The World Needs a Father founder and international speaker Cassie Carstens, defined family roles are the basis of well-rounded, purposeful children.
Carstens will present The World Needs a Father conference at the Abbotsford Christian Centre on Saturday.
In an interview with the Daily Dispatch, Carstens, who is based in Cape Town, but whose The World Needs a Father movement has a presence in 33 countries, said the basis for the movement was laid when he was conducting leadership training in Tanzanian refugee camps in 2002.
“I heard horrific stories about how rebels in the eastern part of Congo dismembered people, how babies were hacked up. It was really graphic and terrible, and I asked God what the problem was in Africa,” he said.
“The answer was not poverty or HIV/Aids, but fatherlessness, and I got a clear instruction to do something about it.”
He said in South Africa 66% of children were raised without fathers, leading them to grow up “without identity and purpose”.
“They live in a vacuum and anyone can take hold of them, and so rebel leaders and gangsters become substitute fathers because they give them identity and purpose.”
Asked why mothers could not provide this role, Carstens said mothers could “console and comfort”.
Mothers cannot give affirmation, according to Carstens.
His teaching is based on firmly entrenched gender roles which, among others, anoint men as those who “usher in the moral authority in the house”, which mothers then validate.
“This is because the Bible says the man is the head, so he must initiate,” said Carstens, who also tasks fathers with affirming children’s identity, ushering in unconditional and sacrificial love and “validating the unique significance of each person in the house”.
Mothers, on the other hand “transfer intimacy”, nurture and care for their families and are the home-makers.
“No-one has taught this before,” said Carstens, who has written a book called The World Needs a Father.
He insisted that his teaching was not a promotion of masculinity, nor did it relate to male superiority.
“Mothers are not the problem in this world, fathers are the problem in family life. They abandon their children and, if they are present, they neglect it. They have abdicated responsibility and I teach them to step up and take responsibility.”
Conference organiser East London chartered accountant Wynand du Plessis said he had first encountered Carstens when he attended a marriage course in the Free Stare two years ago and later underwent The World Needs a Father training.
“It is important that fathers not just be physically present for their children, but also be emotionally engaged with them,” he said.
Fellow conference organiser Mthatha gynaecologist Dr Zweli Mbambisa said research had shown that fatherlessness was responsible for “the majority of ills in society” and that the conference would motivate men to be better fathers.
lTickets for The World Needs a Father conference at the Abbotsford Christian Centre cost R50 and are available at Vodacom 4U in Pearce Street, Berea, and at the Abbotsford Christian Centre. It begins at 10am on Saturday and runs until 4pm. A light lunch is included in the ticket price. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Conference focus on role of fathers
Carstens will present The World Needs a Father conference at the Abbotsford Christian Centre on Saturday.
In an interview with the Daily Dispatch, Carstens, who is based in Cape Town, but whose The World Needs a Father movement has a presence in 33 countries, said the basis for the movement was laid when he was conducting leadership training in Tanzanian refugee camps in 2002.
“I heard horrific stories about how rebels in the eastern part of Congo dismembered people, how babies were hacked up. It was really graphic and terrible, and I asked God what the problem was in Africa,” he said.
“The answer was not poverty or HIV/Aids, but fatherlessness, and I got a clear instruction to do something about it.”
He said in South Africa 66% of children were raised without fathers, leading them to grow up “without identity and purpose”.
“They live in a vacuum and anyone can take hold of them, and so rebel leaders and gangsters become substitute fathers because they give them identity and purpose.”
Asked why mothers could not provide this role, Carstens said mothers could “console and comfort”.
Mothers cannot give affirmation, according to Carstens.
His teaching is based on firmly entrenched gender roles which, among others, anoint men as those who “usher in the moral authority in the house”, which mothers then validate.
“This is because the Bible says the man is the head, so he must initiate,” said Carstens, who also tasks fathers with affirming children’s identity, ushering in unconditional and sacrificial love and “validating the unique significance of each person in the house”.
Mothers, on the other hand “transfer intimacy”, nurture and care for their families and are the home-makers.
“No-one has taught this before,” said Carstens, who has written a book called The World Needs a Father.
He insisted that his teaching was not a promotion of masculinity, nor did it relate to male superiority.
“Mothers are not the problem in this world, fathers are the problem in family life. They abandon their children and, if they are present, they neglect it. They have abdicated responsibility and I teach them to step up and take responsibility.”
Conference organiser East London chartered accountant Wynand du Plessis said he had first encountered Carstens when he attended a marriage course in the Free Stare two years ago and later underwent The World Needs a Father training.
“It is important that fathers not just be physically present for their children, but also be emotionally engaged with them,” he said.
Fellow conference organiser Mthatha gynaecologist Dr Zweli Mbambisa said research had shown that fatherlessness was responsible for “the majority of ills in society” and that the conference would motivate men to be better fathers.
lTickets for The World Needs a Father conference at the Abbotsford Christian Centre cost R50 and are available at Vodacom 4U in Pearce Street, Berea, and at the Abbotsford Christian Centre. It begins at 10am on Saturday and runs until 4pm. A light lunch is included in the ticket price. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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