Any man can make children but it takes a Father to raise a child

An unknown author once said any man can become a dad but it takes a special man to become a father. As 09 June, the one day Fathers around the world get to be celebrated, approaches, I can not help but write an ode to all the fathers out there.
As much as they don’t carry a pregnancy it is still their love and guidance that give us a sense of identity and belonging. Little girls grow up being Daddy’s princess, knowing how a man is to treat a woman, how a man can always be a backbone and little boys grow up knowing how to respect and love women, how to be responsible characters that know how to handle domestic and professional matters in a rightful and dignified manner.
While little boys learn how to treat a woman and go on to be fathers themselves, too often I find there are so many boys who never reach that stage where they can be a Father. This is usually when they have already sired a number of children.
This brings me to the question what would our lives be without the men who raised us, showed up for recitals, concerts and soccer matches, who cheered us on in school competitions, took our pictures when we had our matric farewells, stood tall at our graduation ceremony or walked us down the aisle on our big day, and showed up at the hospital when the first grandchild was born? What would our homes be with only one parental figure, with no one to make Mummy smile on her birthday and every time she brings warm food to the table for dinner at the end of the day? Dangerous and of no use teenage boys stay away from precious ambitious girls because of these protectors we call fathers. Today we salute you, with hearts full of gratitude and joy for all the sacrifices you have made to ensure we are the men and women you are proud to call children. We are who we are because of you!
How many times do we hear small kids say things like “I want to be a doctor, an engineer or a pilot like daddy”? It is because we emulate them. We look up to them as role models.  I can bear testimony to the fact that my father always taught us to grab the bull by the horns and tackle every challenge as it came. It is because of those words that I am who I am today. A strong, fearless young woman.
Fathers are the cornerstones of the family. Thank you for holding our families together, for providing for and protecting us, and for being our moral compasses. You helped us as children to walk tall and have faith in ourselves; you supported our mothers as the lucky women of the world.
Here is to the joys of fatherhood, you are indeed the gifts that keep on giving.
Happy Father’s Day to my hero, my great advisor and protector, my father Jamie Chipepo and to all the fathers out there