It has been a while since I blogged and I have been meaning to get back into it. I now have a reason to do so. In 2022, 6 months after Kelly passed away, I was invited to be a participant in a PhD research study into the fathering experience of South African widowed fathers, who parent and raise their children. This enabled me to meet the nicest of person, a lady by the name of Elna Sutherland who was in the process of obtaining a doctoral degree in Psychology.
Elna asked to meet with me and I was invited to answer several questions that would contributed towards her research. Questions such as “what was your relationship like with each of your children before the passing of their mother? What is your relationship like now?”. “What are the challenges for you as a father? What do you find the most difficult about being a single parent?”. The conversation was thought provoking and I shared as willingly and as honestly as I could.
Elna was incredibly empathetic and had a real passion for the subject. She spoke about the good that she hoped that would come from the research. Ultimately there being more appreciation for the unique challenges of a widowed father. Perhaps there even being more forms of support for those in need. We have stayed in contact and she has kept me up to date on the research. I hope to read the final paper and take note of its observation. Elna has now been invited to present her research at the International Congress for Psychologist in Prague. This is a chance to share the topic and preliminary findings on an international level. I am sure that it will be extremely insightful and well received.
The primary reason for this was post was to say that Elna is also looking for further contributors to the study. If you are one of those fathers who would like to share your story and assist her research, please reach out to her on elna@sutherlandqs.co.za. You are also welcome to contact me and I will put you in touch. The Stoics talk about “acts for the common good”. This might be your opportunity to do so.