In this piece, we share a story collected during our fieldwork in Soroti District, Uganda. During the visit, we interviewed a young family participating in the REAL Fathers program, which is currently implemented across eight districts in the country. This particular young father has attended five mentorship sessions to date. These sessions are designed to equip young fathers with the knowledge and skills needed to become more responsible, nurture loving relationships within their families, and actively participate in shared family roles and caregiving:

In the busy center of Asamuk Town Council, Amuria District, lives Julius, a 25-year-old father of two, and his wife Doreen, who together are challenging traditional family norms by running a business and raising their children, equally and intentionally.

This journey didn’t begin in the frying pan. Not long ago, Julius’s life looked very different. With no stable income and limited understanding of his role as a father, he was doing odd jobs and struggling to support his young family. That changed when he met Steven, a community mentor trained through the REAL Fathers Program.

Steven had known Julius since he was a child, and had once witnessed firsthand how the absence of fatherly guidance had shaped his life. “The family had no head,” Steven recalled. “Everyone would leave the children with the other without caring and there was no sense of unity.” But after Steven attended the REAL Fathers Training of Trainers session, he saw a chance to help them make a change.

With support from the program and after attending training, Steven returned to his community ready to mentor young fathers like Julius. He taught Julius the value of shared responsibility, communication, and setting a vision for the family. It was during the Family Dreams session that something clicked for Julius.

“I learned what it means to be a family,” Julius shared. “I wanted to be the kind of father who provides and also builds something together with my wife.”

Inspired, Julius launched a small cassava frying business with his wife, buying, preparing, and selling the local delicacy as a team. Together, they work side-by-side, balancing shifts between the frying and childcare. They have two children, aged 3 years and 5 months, are no longer solely in Doreen’s care, Julius is just as involved in feeding, cleaning, and nurturing them.

Their business has been running for about eight months now, and it’s making a difference. Julius and Doreen proudly saves part of their income through a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) group they are in. “Before, I was just digging to earn a little money. Now, we have a plan and we’re building something together.”

Though there are only a few young fathers in his village currently in the mentorship program, Julius is already a shining example of what’s possible when fathers step into their roles with purpose, and when families work together, not in isolation.

Julius and Doreen’s story is one of partnership. It’s about transforming cultural expectations into shared dreams and showing that when both parents stand together, families grow stronger, financially, emotionally, and socially.

And for Steven, watching this young couple thrive is the reward for his mentorship. “It’s not just about being present,” Steven says. “It’s about being part of the journey.”