Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘It does not matter how poor you are. If you have a family, you are rich.'
Voice 2
May 15th is the International Day of Families. The United Nations have marked this day to honour the family. Each year people explore a different subject concerning the family. In 2008 the subject was: ‘Fathers and Families'. In 2009, it is: ‘Mothers and Families'. These subjects examine what each parent can bring to the family, and what problems they face
Voice 1
To mark the International Day of Families, Spotlight looks at the changing responsibilities of mothers and fathers. We hear how a group of women in the Middle East stepped in when men lost their jobs! And we hear from a father in Zambia who is not afraid to do the housework!
Voice 2
A large family sit and eat together. The atmosphere is happy. The children laugh and talk together. The mother smiles at the food on the table. It is not so long ago that she feared they would have to go without...
Amal is mother to eight children. She lives on the West bank, close to Israel's separation barrier. The barrier prevented her husband going to work. She remembers:
Voice 3
‘Suddenly the wall was there and my husband could not go to his job in Israel anymore.'
Voice 2
This meant that no one in Amal's family was bringing home any money. There were many other Palestinian families in the same situation. However, Amal refused to let her family suffer. She decided to join a women's group she had heard about. The group was a cooperative. A cooperative is a kind of business. Each worker owns a part, a ‘share' of the business. This cooperative was supported by European aid groups. Together, the women discussed what they could do to help their families. Amal said:
Voice 3
‘We discussed how we could earn money for ourselves. Suddenly, we recognised that what we needed was a store that sells food. None of us would be able to open such a store alone. But why not set it up and manage it together - through the cooperative?'
Voice 2
The women decided to act. They got help from a local aid group called the Arab Centre for Agricultural Development - ACAD. ACAD advised the women about how to manage their cooperative effectively. This was important, because many other projects had failed from a lack of such planning. ACAD gave the women training. The women learned about laws, good management and financial planning. These skills could also assist the women in all kinds of work in the future.
And so, the women began work. They opened their own food store! Each member of the cooperative owned a part, a ‘share,' of the business. Their business was a success! And the women could use the store to buy food for their own families as well. Now, at the end of the year, the women divide the profits. Amal said:
Voice 3
‘When I look back. I see how strong our cooperative has become. I see how we have grown. It is our cooperative. We feel proud and sure that we can build a better future together.'
Voice 2
Amal and the other women saw a way to help their families. And they acted quickly. They did not feel restricted by the traditional jobs of men and women. They recognized that both fathers and mothers can care for the different needs of their families.
Voice 1
Worldwide more mothers today are going out to work. In fact, in Western countries today this is normal! But if women are going out to work more, are men doing more to help with work at home? The truth is, ‘often not'. Often working mothers 'do it all'. Old ideas are slow to change. To many people, caring for the family and home is still a 'mother's job' - even if she is also earning money!
Joe Kapalyo is a fifty-four [54] year old man from Zambia. He is a Church Minister - a Reverend. He has been married for twenty-five [25] years. He and his wife have two daughters. Revered Kapalyo shared his ideas about a father's responsibilities:
Voice 4
‘Many people think that looking after children is a woman's job. People seem to forget about the father. Both parents should be involved in raising their children.
My own father taught me many things, mostly through examples. I saw that a good father loves, respects and cares for the mother of his children. My father worked hard to provide for his family. We did not have much. But we were not hungry or homeless. My father had seven sons and five daughters. He treated us exactly the same. He made sure all twelve of us received an education.
My father also taught me this: It is not the jobs I do that make me the man I am. But the man I am will affect the way I do every job. Because of this, I have never considered that I am too good for any job. I have enjoyed, and still enjoy cleaning the house, taking care of the children, buying food and doing the washing!
It is a real honour to be a father. Fathers need to invest time and effort to care for their children, to help prepare them for life's problems.
When the children are young, a good father will use every chance to look after them, pray for them, provide them... He will seek to connect with them in a relationship of love and care. It is not just a question of providing the physical or financial needs of his children. Fathers have a part to play in creating a good environment for the children to grow up in. They have a part to play in making a warm, safe and friendly home environment. And they have a part to play in correcting the children, and teaching them about culture and values. A father should help his children to learn to choose what is right, to respect all other human beings. And he should prepare them to be good parents to the next generation.'
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