All of us have fathers, but our relationships to them are as varied as we are numbered. Some wish we knew our dads more, some wish we knew them less. Some fathers couldn't care less, while others would give anything in the world to ensure that their children can live a better life. Some dads are like Roger Ebanks and Jeleel Stewart (or Bushman, as he's known to his friends).

Roger is from a small rural town in the parish of Westmoreland on the west side of Jamaica, while Bushman lives in inner city Spanish Town in St. Catherine, close to the capital of Kingston. Roger's two adult children, Troy and Asheda, have had the opportunity to attend university, a privilege that is economically unattainable to most Jamaicans. Jamaicans like Bushman and his young family, who may never be able to provide his kids with anything beyond a basic education when it is a struggle to put food on the table.

Despite their differences, these two men are similar in a couple fundamental ways: both love their children so much and both have been employed in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Program in the Niagara region. Roger is in his late 50s and has been working in the program for over 25 years, while Bushman is in his 30s and last summer was his first year coming up to work. Both are now unable to work to support their families.

Last year, Roger was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable form of cancer. At an age when most people would be looking forward to retirement and pension cheques, Roger has had to undergo intensive chemotherapy and dialysis treatments. For a man who put his children first in everything, the pain of knowing he cannot afford to support Asheda through her last year of university hurts even more. He cannot even return to Jamaica to be with his children, since he wouldn't be able to receive the treatments he needs to live. While Roger has become family to many people here in Niagara, it's just not the same.

A forklift crushed Bushman's hand at work last month. His fingers were crushed and artery and tendon severed. He's in a great deal of pain, and, similar to Roger, this pain is a combination of the physical injury and the inability to send money home to his family. Bushman is such a light in our community; he's the first one to start dancing, the last one to stop singing (and the loudest one playing dominoes!). Depending on the outcome of an upcoming meeting, he may be leaving for Jamaica as early as this week. We will miss him dearly, but are happy to think of him at home with the family he cares about so much.

Roger and Bushman are just a couple of examples of the dedication possessed by the seasonal workers our country employs in abundance. There are so many children in Jamaica who are without their dads for sometimes as long as eight heartbreaking months of the year. For those men with young children, they are often not recognized upon their return home. This piece is not meant as a rally cry, a petition plea, or a protest song, but rather a celebration of our common humanity.

So this summer, be sure to offer an encouraging word or smile whenever you see these men. If you have the opportunity to meet them in the grocery store, ask about their kids. Even just basic questions about names, ages, or admiring the worn photos they carry in their wallets, can be such an encouragement to them. It helps them remember why they are persevering through all the hardships they face here in Canada; all the alienation, ailments, and discrimination temporarily disappears when they see the sweet faces of their children, or hear their tiny voices over the phone. We encourage you to acknowledge these men not just as temporary workers, but also as brothers, husbands, sons, and fathers. While we'll never know the painful extent of the sacrifices they make to work our farms and support their families, we can certainly try our hardest.