In the week running up to Father’s Day, the Navajo Nation Program for Self Reliance [NNPSR] has launched its first media campaign to promote and encourage responsible fatherhood, according to an article in The Gallup Independent.

 

Of the more than 3,000 households served by the program, nearly 90 percent are headed by single mothers, the newspaper’s Diné Bureau reports.  

 

Roxanne Gorman, NNPSR department manager, told the paper:

 

"A great deal of social problems faced by the Navajo Nation may be attributed to the physical absence of the father from the home."

 

By the same token, a father’s presence has benefits:

 

“Fathers who are involved in their children’s schools and academic achievement, regardless of their own educational level, are increasing the chances their child will graduate from high school, perhaps go to vocational school, or even to college,” Gorman said.

 

According to the article:

 

The Program for Self Reliance worked with G&G Advertising of Albuquerque to create the unprecedented media campaign which features the themes “Who’s Looking Up to You? My Dad, My Hero” and “When We Work We Work For All” and includes print ads, posters and radio announcements in Navajo and English.



According to the NNPSR, the first campaign theme “Who’s Looking Up To You? My Dad, My Hero” is an effort to remind fathers that children treasure the time they spend with their dads. The second theme refers to the unique role of the father in the family.

 

 

Nearly 25 million children are growing up in America without involved fathers, according to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families [ACF]. In a press release announcing a nationwide campaign for father involvement, ACF says:

 

"Children with fathers present in their lives are significantly more likely to do well in school and avoid high-risk behaviors such as drug use and criminal activity, compared to children who have uninvolved fathers."

 

Nationwide, public service announcements are airing with the tagline "Take the Time to be a Dad Today," which direct listeners and viewers to resources available to fathers, including parenting tips, through the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse.