RAISING A MAN WITHOUT A FATHER

Fathers play an important role in the life of their children. They provide protection and provision. For a son, they are an example of who he is to become as a man. Without that example, it can be tough for a young boy to figure out how to imitate the role of a man without a male role model.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2016, there were over 17.2 million single parented households being parented by only the mother. With this being such an alarming rate, it means that there are a lot of children in the world without a father in the home. Mothers that are left to rear the family alone must work through the obstacles of providing for the family, supplying its needs, and finding the time to be present for the children. This is a lot of responsibility and can be quite a task for one person.

One single mom, Keonna Freeman, in Dover, Delaware worked tirelessly to raise her son, Da'Von mostly on her own. At the age of 16, Keonna got pregnant with Da'Von and with the help of her family, she was able to rear her son into adulthood. Her journey as a single mother was filled with obstacles that she gracefully overcame. Despite becoming a teenage mother, she worked hard to graduate high school and once her son was older went to Wilmington University to earn a bachelor's and master's degree all while providing care for her elderly grandparents up until the time of their deaths.

Da'Von has also had to work through a lot of challenges as a result of his father not being a consistent figure in his life. During a time when he and his father were not on speaking terms, Da'Von started to make bad choices out of anger and resentment. "Me and some of my friends who didn't have dads became like a family. I'm not proud of it but I turned to the streets. I hated him so much that I ended up becoming him," he says.  

Present-day, Keonna is months away from graduating with a doctorate in social science and she just recently opened a practice, FreeLee Integrated Health and Wellness where she provides a variety of services including mental health therapy and many other services all stemming from a holistic approach.

Da'Von is days away from his twenty-first birthday and doing well. He works with his mom at the practice doing billing and handling all the administrative needs. He is a fun-loving guy with a big personality. He loves his family and spends time with them often. Playing basketball is one of his favorite pastimes and he also loves to write.

Both Keonna and Da'Von are examples of what it means to defy all the odds. Keonna as a successful single mother and Da'Von as a young man finding his own way throughout life. Keonna's advice to other single mothers struggling to raise son's without fathers, "Love on them as often as you can. Display a balance of love and discipline. Pray over them and speak life, protection, light, healing, and success over them as often as you can," she states.