The a world that often overlooks the silent burdens men carry, the story of Augustine Santiero Donzuo stands as a powerful reminder of resilience, sacrifice and unspoken struggles of single fatherhood.

As the world celebrates Father’s Day, it’s easy to focus on the tradi­tional image of fatherhood which is provider, protector and a stern loving figure, but beyond these are silent struggles fathers go through especially single fathers.

For the past five years, Augustine has navigated life as a single parent of two children-a boy and a girl on his own while juggling the demands of work, education and emotional surviv­al.

The story of Augustine is not just about parenting, it is about endurance, heartbreak, and an unwavering com­mitment to his children in the face of overwhelming odds.

He lives and works in Tarkwa in the Western Region, juggling life as a Fire officer, caretaker, and sole emotional support for his children.

His quiet strength is a reminder that fatherhood is not always loud. Sometimes, it’s found in the simple act of staying-when walking away would have been easier.

Augustine’s journey began in Janu­ary 2010, when he married the woman he loved. Unknown to him at the time, she was already pregnant. Not long after their marriage, he was posted to the Upper West Region following his enlistment into the Ghana National Fire Service.

The distance tested their relation­ship early on. He tried his best to visit, and eventually brought her to join him. But subtle signs of strain began to show—mostly from his wife’s family. What began as minor disagreements cracked the foundation of their union.

By 2016, after six years of mar­riage, their relationship collapsed. Au­gustine was devastated. He had tried to reconcile, visiting her family, call­ing, sending money, but her responses became cold, distant, and final. “One day she told me, ‘I will never come today, I will never come tomorrow. I am not even bringing your children,” he recalls.

Despite the pain, he continued sending money for their upkeep. “I did it for my children,” he says. “Even when love is gone, responsibility re­mains.”

In 2017, Augustine’s ex-wife filed a complaint at Legal Aid, claiming ne­glect. But when questioned, her story shifted, first to abandonment, then to demanding more money. The panel quickly sensed the inconsistencies. Augustine explained how he had con­tinued to support her, even buying food and supplies for her business which included loans he was still paying.

“What hurt me most was the dis­honesty,” he says. “She told her family things I never said. At some point, I realised she didn’t want reconcilia­tion, she wanted to cut ties, but with benefits.”

She requested GH¢700 monthly in support, a sum he said was impossible given his salary and loans. “Even after separation, I was paying school fees, buying clothes, sending money. If I wanted to walk away, I wouldn’t have spent a dime.”

Then, in 2018, came a moment that would change everything. One evening, his ex-wife returned the children, unexpectedly and without agree­ment. Accompanied by her father, she dropped them off, leaving Augustine to become a full-time single parent overnight.

“The girl was nine, the boy six. They didn’t say much. They just stood there, confused. I had to become everything for them, father, mother, friend, protector,” Augustine said.

What followed were years of sacrifice and solitude. Without nearby relatives or a strong support system, he had to rely entirely on himself.

He would leave work and rush home to cook, help with homework, do laun­dry, and nurse fevers. “I lost a lot,” he admits. “Friends, freedom, even parts of myself.” And yet, he never gave up.

Raising children is never easy, but doing it alone, while still carrying the weight of betrayal and financial hardship which left scars. Augustine recounts the long nights, praying his children would grow up healthy and happy despite the absence of their mother.

His daughter, now 15 and in SHS, has grown quieter. “There are days I just sit and cry,” he says. “When my daughter asks, I say ‘nothing.’ then she says, I see tears flowing, I will still say it’s nothing.

Augustine said there were moments he had considered giving up. “I had thoughts,” he confesses. “When life felt too heavy. When no one checked on me. “I understood why some people commit suicide,” he said.

But then I remembered I have two lives depending on me, if I am gone, who will take care of them?” That question has kept him going, one day at a time.

Today, Augustine’s children are thriving. His daughter is doing well in school, and his son has grown into a thoughtful, cheerful boy. But their suc­cess has come at a cost, paid for with sleepless nights, missed opportunities, and invisible emotional wounds.

“I don’t want pity,” he says. “I just want people to understand what fathers feel too. We cry, we break, but we don’t always show it,” he added.

This Father’s Day, Augustine’s journey reminds the world of the quiet fathers, who are often unseen and seldom celebrated.

They are the ones redefining fatherhood in Ghana and beyond, em­bodying responsibility, patience, and love in the most demanding circum­stances.

For Augustine, he would not wish this life for his worst enemy,” but for him, there is purpose, “I will keep go­ing because they need me, and that’s enough.”

Currently in Ghana, Father’s Day is gradually evolving with traditions of­ten marked by cards, media tributes, and public applause, which reflects a growing appreciation of paternal sacrifice.

By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu