ST MARY, Jamaica — At 44 years old, Nathail Nigel Stephens of Rock Corner, St Mary, has been a single parent to his three daughters, ages 11,16,and 17, for over 17 years, and according to him, he has no regrets. The quiet and shy father says his only wish is that he could do more to make their lives more comfortable.

In an interview with Observer Online, Stephens said there are days he still questions why their mother left but vowed that he would not abandon his girls.

“Up today I ask myself why she left. She didn’t have to work and she wasn’t short of anything,” he shared, outlining that he took care of the woman by taking odd jobs and working as a taxi and bus operator. He said her departure caused him to pivot in terms of the jobs he was able to undertake but said even then, abandonment was not a choice.

He also expressed that allowing another woman to assume the role of mother was not an option as he knows the stepparent struggles all too well.

“It’s 10 of us my father got with 10 different women so I know about stepmother and step- brother and sisters which is not easy,” he expressed, shaking his head as he reminisced on his past.

The single father said he only wishes his girls could “live better” and that motivates him to put his best foot forward on a daily basis. Stephens says although he may not be able to shower his daughters with luxuries other children may receive, he hopes to arm them with the greatest elevation tool he knows- a good education.

“Nuff time, I cry because of the situation when I don’t have it to send them to school,” Stephens said, noting however, that he does get some assistance from his mother and sister.

“I appreciate the help my mother and sister do for them. As they are not short of clothes but I wish their mother was here to fill that part she needs to fill.”

Stephens said he has come this far with his daughters and would never leave them stating that his proudest moment so far is knowing his eldest daughter will be graduating high school.

He says his greatest wish now is to one day change his daughters’ living conditions, pointing out that they all presently occupy a one-bedroom house. His hope, he added, is for the children to have their own space.

‘At the moment where we live is not convenient. Me want tek dem out of the one room so each a dem have dem own room and an inside bathroom,” he stressed.

• Ingrid Henry