FADA in Herald of India

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Deepalaya to forge partnership with Father and Daughter Alliance
      By Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 29: "Boys should go with their fathers and girls with their mothers. We men cannot understand our daughters' issues."

This was a statement made by an Indian father in January 2009 to Pedro Moreno, international expert on social policy and economic mobility and founder-president of the Father and Daughter Alliance (FADA).

The Alliance is committed to the simple observation that girls have a far better chance of getting an education if they have the support of their fathers.

Moreno is in India this week to forge partnerships; a significant one already underway is with New Delhi-based NGO Deepalaya.

In collaboration with Deepalaya, which has over 30 years experience in the field of development and education, FADA is establishing fathers' associations to promote young girls' education through this critical concept of close involvement of the fathers.

In January this year, Moreno held extensive meetings in India with beneficiary communities, fathers, daughters, students, teachers, NGOs and government officials, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who later announced the government's commitment to partner with FADA and Deepalaya.

This week Moreno is meeting with target groups of fathers, daughters, government officials, school principals, planners, strategizers and members of the development community and media.

FADA's core idea is not to be prescriptive, but to share experiences, build networks, understand and include fathers in order to help them as they confront this simple question: "If you had all the money, time and opportunity you need, with no restrictions to send your daughter to school, no obstacles at all, would you do it?"

In hundreds of meetings like these, Moreno has heard few fathers answer no. However remote, when possibility is perceived, fathers tend to say yes. With that realization is the first making of hope and FADA is determined to facilitate these fathers together with their daughters and family to take this path toward a better future.

Delhi's Minister for Health and Welfare Kiran Walia has said, "We must increase interaction between fathers and daughters." Leveraging this interaction for the sake of daughters is FADA's work.

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