After losing my job, my wife left me and my children went wild

Dear Philip,
My wife of 25 years left me because I have no money. Here is my story:

Our wedding 25 years ago was one of the most celebrated weddings. I paid dowry as demanded by traditions and customs and, to crown it all, took my wife before the altar.

During the wedding ceremony, we even received congratulatory messages from the Pope himself, several archbishops and bishops.

The service was celebrated by 35 priests, two deacons and five major seminarians and was even covered by the local media.

Three children followed in quick succession. How many men can change napkins and spoon-feed their children?

How many men can go to Marikiti to buy fruits and vegetables for the children?

How many men can stay up late at night or sleep in shifts to keep company an infant who has refused to sleep, or is in pain? I did all this.

During the marriage, on several occasions I would make the bed, iron my wife’s clothes, carry her bags, and do other household chores because she had a back problem.

Her diabetic father, whose toes have been amputated lived with us for sometime. I would often carry him to the toilet at night.

I also welcomed my sister-in-law to live with us. I basically became fully integrated into my wife’s family.

When it came to providing for my family, I never failed. I even built a permanent house for us. I educated all my children in private schools, from primary to secondary school.

After all of them had cleared Form Four, I lost my job. And one year later, at the beginning of 2010, my wife deserted our matrimonial home, saying she cannot stay and give me food (which she has bought with her money).

She carried away everything in the house. And when I say everything, I mean everything, including bulbs, curtains, utensils, beds, beddings, jikos and so on.

I have nothing to show after a whole 25 years of investment and of maintaining and keeping a home.

What beats me is how a person you have lived with for 25 years can be so brutal. And this person claims to be a Christian.

As if that was not enough, my own children humiliated me to the core. They abused me and called me unprintable names.

My first-born son called me kihii [an uncircumcised boy] three times and even challenged my manhood, asking me to prove to him that I was circumcised.

He told me that I sleep with other men, because I used to stay late watching TV.