Wednesday 21st of November we went to the funeral of Lorikus wife.
This was a very heavy day for so many people especially Loriku and his children.
We drove the coffin with mama Sofia from the hospital here in Arusha to her home in Mswakini where she was first taken into her house to be one last time. There was singing and prayers where after we all went outside for the ceremony held under a canvas.
When we all started walking towards the grave Loriku totally broke down and sat down on the ground and just cried. It is so difficult for him to first loose his little son and now his beloved wife.
We had hoped till the last minute that mama Sofia would survive, but that is not how it turned out and God knew what would be best for her. It turned out that the fire had caused internal damage especially to the spine, so she was worse off than we had first expected. The poor woman has suffered so much, but now she is at peace and home resting with Jesus.
We would like to continue to support Loriku and his children as well as we can, we love them so much.
I personally was so fond of Lorikus wife; she was such a dear woman in all ways. Her heart was so full of love and it shone out of her.
Loriku also love his wife so much and he was a fantastic husband. The children also loved their mother as she was a wonderful mother.
Mama Sofia was only 34 years old.
The 3 remaining children, a boy at the age of 14 will stay in Mswakini to look out for the cattle. He eats at his grandparent’s house as they live next door. Sofia is 10 years old and goes to school here in Arusha and lives with another Maasai family and has done so for the past 5 years. The little girls whom were also burned and who is now out of hospital, lives with her mothers brother and aunt who have promised to take care of her. Loriku would like to continue his work with us but has asked for a month off. Loriku will always be in close contact to his children and he will travel home to his son as often as he can.
The father disappeared and they have had no contact with him for several years. Ruth is a bright girl in school. Her school decided to sponsor her schooling because they are really poor. For various reasons the school recently shut down and Ruth had to find another school.
The mother cannot afford to send Ruth to another school. Ruth’s grandfather is a Maasai and he wants to have her back in Maasai land. He does not want a girl to get eductaed, but instead follow the Maasai traditions for girls: to be married. Maasais think that only boys should get educated.
Ruth’s mother told me that Ruth’s grandfather had received an offer from an elderly, wealthy Maasai who wanted to pay a very large dowry in the form of many cows in order to marry Ruth. Ruth had been desperate because she wanted to stay in school, get her education and choose her husband when the time was ripe. For this reason the mother and Ruth came to our office asking for help.
We trusted God and sent Ruth to a good, Christian school where she is thriving.
We received a sponsor who will support her until Form 4 is completed. But Ruth wishes to continue for another two years and graduate from High School. If any of you would like to support Ruth for a few more years please write us or send a gift to our missions account. Please earmark it “Ruth”.
