From building emotional security and nurturing cognitive growth, to modeling empathy and teaching children how to navigate the world around them—a father's presence matters deeply.
This Father’s Day, we’re celebrating father figures everywhere—like the three dads below who are raising children with love, determination and sacrifice.
Providing the love he needed: A foster father cares for children
Ganza* has never forgotten what it was like to grow up without parental care.
His parents passed away when he was in elementary school, and, as the eldest, Ganza knew the responsibility to protect and provide for his younger siblings now fell on his young shoulders.
Ganza dropped out of school in Rwanda to care for his brothers and sisters, but he couldn’t have done cared for his siblings without the generous help of community members.
“We had no way to support ourselves, but our neighbors helped us until we reached adulthood,” Ganza shared. “Because people supported me when I needed it most, I cannot ignore children and young people who are suffering around me.”
The compassionate dedication of his neighbors followed Ganza into adulthood. From a young boy who grew up without parents, building a family of 10—including three foster children—is deep source of joy and purpose.
“I decided to foster children because other people supported me to become who I am today,” he explains. “For that reason, I cannot allow young people to struggle alone.”
But Ganza’s determination to care for children without parents doesn’t stop there. Motivated to do even more for children growing up without safety, stability or love, Ganza took his commitment a step further.
Through the Seruka Project—an SOS Children’s Villages initiative that helps children living in street situations find safe, loving homes—Ganza recently participated in an essential, evidence-based training in trauma-informed care and mental health support.
Now, Ganza is equipped with the tools to do what his community once did for him — step in, show up and refuse to let a child face the world alone!
Learn more about SOS’ work to end child homelessness.
Two years apart: A father and son reunited in Gaza
In times of crisis, children are the most vulnerable.
During the devastating conflict in Gaza, two-year-old Fares lost everything—his home, his sense of safety and the only family he had.
Separated from his father amidst the violence, the toddler was alone, scared and struggling to survive unimaginable hardships—like hunger, violence and the daily threat of exploitation that unaccompanied children face in conflict zones.
Then, a local mosque Imam connected Fares with SOS Children’s Villages, where he grew for two years, protected by Hidaya, his SOS caregiver. While Hidaya cared for Fares—providing the nutritious food, professional healthcare, education and everything else he needed to develop, grow and thrive—SOS staff never stopped their family tracing efforts.
With a safe relationship with a nurturing, trusted adult, Fares began to heal from the trauma of war. But the question remained: where was his father?
Working through the grueling challenges of living in a conflict zone—destroyed homes, displaced families, broken communication systems—SOS staff continued to search for Fares’ father.
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And Fares’ father, Omar*, relentlessly looked for his son, too. Until, one day, the collaboration between an SOS social worker and hospital identified a possible address for Omar.
Through careful coordination and verifying documentation that proved Omar’s identity, SOS confirmed they had found Fares’ family!
A week later, Omar arrived at the camp for a heartwarming reunion.
“Despite his young age, when Fares saw his father, he ran to him quickly, even though he had been lost since he was about two years old,” says Wissal Edwan, SOS project manager for unaccompanied and separated children.
Read more about how SOS protects children in emergencies.
From heartbreak to home: How SOS daycare provided the support a single father needed
When his wife passed away during the birth of their second child, Darpan’s* world collapsed.
Grieving and struggling to care for his two children, Darpan started each morning with an impossible question: Would his children have a brighter future if they grew up without him?
His job as a taxi driver in Nepal made it nearly impossible to care for his newborn daughter and earn a sustainable income to provide for her. With no one to protect her while he worked, Darpan made the painful choice to send the baby girl to live with her grandparents.
“I was grieving and trying to care for two young children by myself,” he recalls. “That was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.”
Heartbreakingly, Darpan isn’t the only parent faced with the tragic reality of unnecessary family separation.
Globally, eight in ten children growing up in alternative care have at least one living parent. But—due to poverty, humanitarian emergencies or healthcare crises—families around the world can’t provide their children the nutritious food, healthcare and other critical necessities they need and so they are separated due to factors outside their control.
Darpan couldn’t imagine missing all her milestones: first smile, first laugh, first steps—and, thanks to dedicated SOS partners, he doesn’t have to.
Darpan connected with SOS Children’s Villages strengthening program, which provides the resources—like parenting support, economic empowerment, healthcare services, nutrition, education and more—families need to stay together and thrive.
With access to an SOS daycare center, Darpan now had a safe space for his daughter to learn, play and grow while he worked.
“As a single parent, finding a place where my daughter is safe and cared for has been a great relief,” Darpan said. “I can now work a full day without worry. Knowing she is well looked after gives me the peace of mind to focus on providing for my family.”
Each evening, instead of wondering about her latest achievements, he experiences her new words, developing skills and budding confidence firsthand.
“I see her learning and growing—and that gives me strength,” he said. “Even in loss, I’ve learned that we can still move forward.”
Learn more about how our family strengthening programs prevent family separation.
How you can celebrate dads worldwide
Some fathers are struggling to care for their children or provide the nutritious meals they need to learn, grow and thrive.
You have the power to change that with your gift to our Full Bellies, Bright Futures Food Drive.
This Father’s Day, you can celebrate the dads in your life with a gift as special, thoughtful and life-changing as they are!
When you shop the Love, Delivered Gift Shop and purchase a real item needed by real children and families, you can honor Dad and pass on his positive influence across the world—and send the life-saving food a father needs for his children to survive now and thrive for years to come.
One gift is all it takes for you to truly change a life—while celebrating his.
Shop Father’s Day gifts that help end childhood hunger