Nairobi-based DadCamp director Samuel Sijenyi handing over a T-shirt to a student during a training for fathers on their role in the family at Deliverance Church Amairo, bringing together fathers from Amukura West and Amukura Central wards in Busia County on Tuesday/IMAGE /HILTON OTENYO.The detachment of fathers from their families has been blamed for the rise in social problems facing children.
The absence of strong and responsible fatherhood in many families leads to an increase in drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancies, domestic violence, rape, behavioural disorders, crime, school dropouts and suicide incidents, according to the DadCamp organisation.
“A strong father is a man who leads with vision. Without a vision, our families will perish. Great vision is often the catalyst for making a series of wise decisions,” said DadCamp director Samuel Sijenyi.
He said a breakdown in fatherhood was evident in many families, with some fathers increasingly losing their influence over their children.
Sijenyi spoke during a four-day training on restoring fathers to their rightful role in families at Deliverance Church Amairo, bringing together fathers from Amukura West and Amukura Central wards in Busia county.
He said fathers should not only be providers for their families, but also offer spiritual and moral leadership.
Sijenyi said some employed children now send financial support to their fathers through their mothers, while during dowry ceremonies, mothers sometimes receive substantial gifts while fathers receive little.
“Children have a say in deciding the destiny of fathers who have no say in their children,” he said.
“In the home where the father is not the spiritual leader, more than 80 per cent of children will abandon their faith as adults. But when a strong father is present, everything changes. Their children almost always retain a strong faith of their own as adults. This is the ‘Father Factor,’” he said.
Hillary Mainga said he was inspired by DadCamp’s leadership and messaging when he encountered its officials in 2025 in a church in Nairobi, prompting him to initiate their visit to Busia to train fathers.
He said fathers participating in the programme were required to bring one schoolgoing child to promote bonding between parents and their children.
“Fathers are a big let-down. Even on Parents’ Day, they leave it to mothers only. Any contribution a father makes, let the child also know, lest it is deemed that the mother is the children’s sole breadwinner,” Mainga said.
Bishop Bernard Odalinga of Zion Temple Global Ministries in Amukura said many fathers had abdicated their responsibilities and left family matters to mothers.
“The head of the family is the father. They should take responsibility. Most children have dropped out of school because of laxity by their fathers,” he said.
Odalinga is also vice chairman of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya in Busia county.
He urged DadCamp to recruit trainers from Busia and take them through at least one week of training in Nairobi so they could continue with the programme locally.
Odalinga expressed concern over rising poverty in Teso and teenage pregnancies associated with school dropouts, saying stronger parental involvement could help address the challenges.
