Four out of every five one-parent families in Australia are fatherless.
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It is a staggering proportion for the first time revealed in the 2021 census of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
It is also the biggest reason behind the push for wider community awareness of the Dads for Kids Festival organised annually by the Uniting Western NSW Services in Dubbo.
Uniting has more than 100 employees in the western area who carry the enormous task of giving children and families support in early intervention and foster care, especially those without fathers or a male role model in their lives, Dubbo Uniting coordinator Jessie Robinson said.
"Helping out single parent families make up a strong part of our many programs around families to keep our children safe at home and elsewhere," she said.
"We believe that when children, especially those who have no dads are supported, given loving care and the best opportunities in life, they can be achievers, that's what we aim for."
The founder of the not-for-profit mental health community-based initiative for men, Tradies Insight, Bruno Efoti, has partnered with Uniting's program for fatherless children seeing the "flow-on impact when fathers are absent as they grow up".
Mr Efoti is a carpenter in Dubbo who went back to school eight years ago to become a qualified mental health counsellor for troubled men.
On worksites, Mr Efoti said, "I saw the mental health issues men were facing and those issues affected them personally and the flow-on effect impacted their families so I created the Tradies Insight to help them.
"It is very important that men especially the fathers look after themselves firstly so they can be role models themselves for their children.
"Kids need to have good men, their good dads around them, because in part they become good people too when we invest in the future of our young people."
Mr Efoti and his wife Joanna have fostered 28 children since they became aware of the pitfalls of family breakdowns, which he said are often caused by mental health problems with the parents, drugs, alcohol, gambling problem and separations.
"I've seen fatherless situations time and time again, and it's sadly one of the deeper issues in our society. That's why we aim to train more men, particularly the young fathers, to know how to be the best version of themselves.
"If they are the best of themselves, they can care, look after and love their kids in the best possible way."
Mr Efoti said he was so proud of the children they fostered, and though he may have lost contact with some, others are still with them.
The children were aged three and four at the time they were abandoned by their biological parents and adopted by Mr Efoti and his wife.
The ABS census also found that 775,000 older Australians are looking after other people's children or their own grandchildren as the number of single parent families also grew to 16 per cent or 1,068,268 in 2021.
Of these single-parent families, the ABS found, four out of every five of those parents are women and females as single parents are growing in numbers from under 15 per cent in 1996, now up nearly 16 per cent as of the 2021 census.
More than 1.8 million Australians are divorced and 674,590 are separated, and eight out of 10 of those caring for their children are women, the ABS report said.
Mr Robinson said the festival will showcase a range of Uniting programs across the western towns geared to assist struggling dads and their families.
The programs for children range from birth up to 25 for those who are in state care, connecting them to support programs and options to ensure their well-being.
"The festival is about celebrating the positive impact of male role models in the lives of our children and showcasing the services and support available to men in our communities," Mr Robinson said.
Mr Efoti and Dubbo Regional Council's councilor Shibli Chowdhury are festival guest speakers.
Information about the Uniting programs will be available at the Dads for Kids Festival to be held at the Ray Clarke Pavilion at Dubbo Showground on Sunday, April 16, from 10am to 2pm.
Elizabeth Frias
I began my news reporting days in western and inner west Sydney before joining the Daily Liberal's Dubbo NSW newsroom. Telling all sorts of stories about people, places and events is my daily preoccupation so email me at elizabeth.frias@austcommunitymedia.com.au and I'll be in touch!
I began my news reporting days in western and inner west Sydney before joining the Daily Liberal's Dubbo NSW newsroom. Telling all sorts of stories about people, places and events is my daily preoccupation so email me at elizabeth.frias@austcommunitymedia.com.au and I'll be in touch!
