South Auckland fathers express their Family Love

The Iosis Young Fathers. Picture / Youtube

Young South Auckland fathers have come together to write and record a song and music video about their experiences for Father's Day.

The Boyz II MenD project was run by Manurewa-based social services organisation, Iosis, over six weeks and paired men, aged from late teens to early 20s, with award-winning musician TJ Taotua.

Programme facilitator, Allan Va'a, said the music project was an opportunity for the dads to build connections with each other and gain peer support.

"There is so much our teen or young fathers don't get because the emphasis is on the mums. But our young men need to get the same kind of support, guidance and input."

Mr Taotua had previously run a similar project in schools and began working with the fathers at the suggestion of Mr Va'a.

Tawhirimatea Tetai-Rosieur, 19, said he jumped on board when Mr Va'a told him other young fathers would be taking part in the programme.

He said it was a chance to find others who know how he feels, and to share their stories through music.

Antonio Fiaosi, 22, is another young father who joined at Mr Va'a's suggestion, and said working with Mr Taotua was, "hard but TJ made it sound easy, and it was a privilege".

Mr Fiaosi said he has changed a lot since becoming a father and said raising a child of your own is a gift.

The song, 'Family Love', was written based on the experiences of the group, sharing their struggles and triumphs.

"Getting all the boys' stories and then putting it into words, you see how it comes together and it's really amazing," said Mr Tetai-Rosieur.

Both men have one-year-old children and said they would be spending Father's Day with their families.

"I'll probably just spend the day at home with my boy and my partner pigging out," said Mr Tetai-Rosieur.

Iosis was able to run the music mentoring programme through funding from the Trillian Trust and the Ted Manson Foundation.

The song and accompanying music video have been released for free to the public through Soundcloud and Youtube.