Features - The Art of Fatherhood
There is no denying that the hardest and most rewarding job on earth is raising a
child, but imagine having five lives depending on you as their strength, provider,
and protector and never being sure of where the next meal will come from. Today,
the trend of absent ‘fathers’ is very much the norm. Quite too often, the lack of
father figures either molds children to feel voids or in hopeful instances, become stronger.
However, one father from Camden, New Jersey named, Victor Marrero, has proven that unconditional
love and commitment remains innate in true men no matter how grave the adversity
or deep the despair.
Marrero and his five boys appeared on ABC’s television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where deserving families receive fully furnished homes. What catapulted the Marrero family in receiving a new house was the ABC news show, 20/20. On a feature covered by Diane Sawyer called, Waiting on the World to Change, the program took viewers into the lives of several children from Camden, New Jersey. Focusing on the struggles of growing up in one of the United States’ most dangerous cities, the show followed Billy Joe Marrero, Victor’s eldest son. Followed for an entire year, Billy Joe’s story caught special attention; capturing the lows of the power being turned off, living without heat, and the scarceness of food in a decrepit home with 4 other brothers and his ailing father, Victor, who somehow kept the family together.
Superdad, Victor Marerro, was born in
Puerto Rico and came to the United States
at the age of fourteen. Arriving in New Jersey,
he had hopes and dreams for a new life. “I wanted a change…I come from a big family
and so all of my brothers and I came to
find a better life.” Raised by a single mother
and growing up with 15 siblings, Victor instills
the same core values he learned from
his mother. “No matter what happens, you
take care of your kids, there’s no excuse not
to. She [Victor’s mother] didn’t have much,
but my mother always made sure we had
shoes, we had what we needed for school
and there was always a plate of food, one
way or another, on the table.” Family unity
remains essential to keeping the Marreros’
close and it has also served as a vital source
in keeping their spirits high in their darkest
moments. “Even though they’re growing up
to be individuals, they’re still brothers. They
have to look out for each other, no matter
what.”
As a single father, Victor found himself in
a typical position that many single mothers
often face in regards to the complete absence
of the other parent. “For six or seven
years, we didn’t even know where she was.”
Speaking on the whereabouts of his ex-wife,
Victor went on to mention that his divorce
followed a major heart attack and bypass.
Despite his failing health and the split between
Victor and the boys’ mother, nothing
could keep Marrero from fulfilling his duties
as a father. “I didn’t want to be without them.
So she chose to leave…She wasn’t in their
lives for a while…but the last couple of years
she has re-entered the boys’ lives.” After his
wife left, misfortune became a common occurrence
in the Marrero household. Eventually
suffering from a second heart attack and
becoming disabled, Victor found it harder
and harder to sustain a decent life for his
kids in a city where drugs run the streets and
jobs are scarce. Yet he found his strength
to cope with the most challenging hardships
from one source, “God!”
Page 1 | 2
ULM Podcast