Feature: Kenyan fathers strive to balance family duties, demanding vocation

Braving the night long freezing cold while guarding households is not a job for the faint-hearted, but Peter Mwania has defied advanced age and grave risks to perform this task with unwavering dedication.

The 60-year-old father of six is a revered night guard in a civil servant quarters located on the eastern edges of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Mwania took up his current vocation five years ago after a stint in farming in his ancestral village failed to materialize.

In an interview with Xinhua on Sunday as the world marks Father's Day, Mwania was in somber mood as he heaped praise on a career that is dreaded by many people.

"I decided to relocate to the city five years ago after farming in the village proved unsustainable due to climatic stresses and shrinking arable land. Likewise, I used to fetch meager earnings from the farm produce," Mwania told Xinhua.

Mwania's evening-to-dawn work is not only involving but is also fraught with risks. He guards a densely populated living quarter and has to contend with noisy, rude and abrasive residents despite the critical service he lends them.

"Weekends are the most hectic since many people troop here in the wee hours yet expect to perform miracles. The hooting by drunken motorists can be deafening," he said.

Like other night guards in Nairobi's crowded suburbs, Mwania has to contend with the reality of vicious criminals who often invade homes to steal. He told Xinhua that criminals in the suburbs have become sophisticated and hard to detect.

"The present day criminals are very young and savvy hence posing a dilemma to guards. Some of them drive cars and camouflage as visitors to fool us. They break into homes using master keys and often cart away valuable items undetected," said Mwania.

He revealed several encounters with petty criminals who waylay people at the gates of their living quarters to snatch valuables like mobile phones, watches and laptops.

Mwania has soldiered on with a risky career largely out of personal conviction there will be light at the end of the dark tunnel. Likewise, the desire to provide for his family has strengthened his resolve to remain in a career that earns him 150 dollars U.S. dollars per month.

"I always explain to my children that my long absence from home is a small sacrifice that a father should pay to ensure his family is stable and thriving," Mwania told Xinhua, adding that he retreats to his ancestral village in the lower eastern parts of Kenya every fortnight to visit the family and oversee work in the 2 acre farm.

Mwania belongs to a multitude of Kenyan fathers who, despite their invisibility, are revered by their wives and children for their dedication and love for the family.

Bernard Mwangi, a lorry driver was relaxing at the steering wheel after a grueling early morning drive to a small town outside Nairobi to deliver construction materials.

The 40-year-old father of three has always strove to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife and children even as he attends to a demanding vocation.

"Sometimes I find myself away from home for days whenever we clinch a contract to supply materials in distant lands. Nevertheless, my family has remained supportive since I explain to them my absence is not intentional," said Mwangi, adding that he planned to spend quality time with his family at a local restaurant on father's day.

Kenyans were in buoyant mood as they celebrated a day to honor fathers. National leaders, business executives, celebrities and ordinary citizens posted adoring messages to fathers on social media.

Sociologists emphasized that astute fathers were critical to strengthen the family unit in the face of turbulence fuelled by negative forces of modernity.

"Father figures are in short supply in the modern age hence the turmoil sweeping across many families. We must restore the honor and dignity associated with fatherhood," remarked Ken Ouko, a sociologist in the University of Nairobi.

His sentiments resonated with John Mulei, a barber who pampered his three-year-old son with a chocolate and fruit juice as he attended to clients on Sunday morning.

"I have been able to save a substantial amount from my job as a barber and plan to invest in a plot and build a permanent house, " said the 33-year-old father as he revealed big plans for his young family despite his limited fortunes. Endi