Express has been catching up with the island’s charities to find out how the past year has gone and what their greatest wishes are for the year ahead.
James’ Ark is a charity dedicated to providing support to families and parents, particularly fathers affected by long-term separation.
Chief executive James Cunningham shared the charity’s highlights of 2025, and hopes and wishes for 2026…
What have been the highlights of 2025?
In 2025, we helped reunite 123 children with their parents.
Throughout this process, we supported both the children and their fathers to build stronger relationships, develop new parenting skills, and create deeper, more meaningful connections.
What has been the greatest challenge?
Fathers often face a constant uphill battle, further intensified by ongoing bias and prejudice against fathers, even within services that are intended to focus on children’s needs.
What is often overlooked is that children consistently do better when their fathers are actively involved in their lives – something that has been supported by decades of evidence.
And what is on your charity’s ‘wish list’ for 2026?
We simply ask that greater attention be given to the wider issue of fatherlessness and its long-term impact on children.
We hope for a greater understanding of the importance of both parents supporting one another’s relationship with their child, and of keeping children free from conflict wherever possible.