Voices of the Land
A Father's Fear
Fathers committed to changing their daughters’ destinies.
I met fathers in Rubuguri who are quietly rebelling against tradition. Men who work the fields but dream of their daughters in classrooms. They’re making small, brave decisions every day: to invest in education instead of dowries, to believe their girls deserve more. Their quiet revolution is reshaping what’s possible for the next generation.
A Father’s Fear: The Gap Year That Could Change Everything
I sat with a father in Rubuguri whose worry was etched across his face, not the kind caused by a crisis, but the quiet, persistent kind that keeps you awake at night.
His daughter just graduated from high school. She applied to college, a dream that felt both exciting and uncertain. But there’s a gap. She can’t start until next year, and in the meantime, she has to wait to see if she even passed the entrance exam. Months of waiting. Months of uncertainty.
I asked, “What is she doing now?”
“Farming,” he said. “Digging. All day, every day. That’s all there is for her to do.”
His concern wasn’t about the physical work; it was about what happens when bright, ambitious young women are left in limbo without a clear path forward. He looked at me with a kind of honesty that cuts through politeness.
“I’m afraid,” he admitted. “I’m afraid she won’t make it to school. I’m afraid she’ll get pregnant before the results even come.”
It wasn’t judgment in his voice; it was reality. This is how life is here. Most women get pregnant young, not because they lack dreams, but because when there’s nothing else to do, and marriage and motherhood are the only visible options, the easiest route becomes the most common one.
“If she gets pregnant,” he said softly, “that’s it. College won’t happen. Her life will head in a different direction.”
He wasn’t angry at her. He was furious at the system, the long wait, the lack of opportunities in between, and the way young women are left vulnerable in the space between ambition and achievement.
This father recognizes what’s at stake. He understands his daughter’s potential. He knows how easily it can be lost, not because she doesn’t want it enough, but because the world around her doesn’t support patience.
As I left our conversation, I thought about all the young women like his daughter, talented, driven, capable, whose futures depend not just on their abilities but on whether they can bridge the gap. The gap between finishing school and starting the next chapter. The gap between dreaming and doing.
For her and many others, that gap isn’t just about time. It’s a test of endurance in a place where few safeguards protect young women from being pulled off track.
Her father is fighting to help her survive, and he shouldn’t have to do it alone.