St Ann Conflict Mediator Joe Issa Urges More Fathers to Be Role Models for Children

A Story by Sally Shiv

It was contemporary Harvard scholar and best-selling author, American Sociologist Dr. Martha Nibley Beck, who once said that “caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result:

It was contemporary Harvard scholar and best-selling author, American Sociologist Dr Martha Nibley Beck, who once said that “caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals.”

With the seeming disrespect that is pervasive in Jamaican society today, particularly among young people, Conflict Mediator Joe Issa is urging fathers to spend more time with their children to positively influence their lives.

“Much of the disrespect which we see among today’s youth is largely attributed to the absence of the father figure in the home,” says Issa, stating, “More fathers should spend quality time with their children to be a role model for them and a positive influence on their lives.”

Issa, who has spent much time and resources in the development of young people through sport and education, urges fathers to take the opportunity provided by Father’s Day this Sunday to rekindle interest in their kids, quoting Dr Beck in part: “Do it! You’ll be surprised at the result.”

“It’s not often that many fathers take time out to bond with their sons and daughters, and this Father’s Day provides a great opportunity for them to do so before they go out celebrating with their friends and colleagues,” said Issa, who founded the hugely successful Cool Group of companies.

While conceding that many fathers have to work in faraway places and, therefore, cannot be home regularly, Issa argues it is a lame excuse given “this new age of communications technology, especially in the advent of social media which provides connectivity wherever you are around the world.”

Issa contends that in the final analysis, it is the responsibility of fathers to do what they have to do to ensure that their children receive the support they need to grow up to be decent and progressive citizens, quoting New York Times two-time best-selling author, H Jackson Brown, who once said, “Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.”