{"id":789,"date":"2022-10-25T21:50:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T21:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/?p=789"},"modified":"2022-11-25T17:32:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T17:32:07","slug":"06-on-death-and-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/?p=789","title":{"rendered":"06. On Death and New Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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06. On Death and New Life<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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According to ourworldindata.org<\/a>, there are about 190,000 deaths and over twice as many births (385,000) per day around the world. Given my stage of life, I have tended not to experience close proximity to either. However, living in Kitindi means that the frequency of both occurrences is higher than I\u2019ve otherwise experienced. The average lifespan here is about 60 compared to nearly 80 in the U.S., so death comes sooner to individuals and happens more frequently in communities. Additionally, as opposed to the 1.7 births per woman average of the U.S. (come on, folks, that\u2019s not even at replacement rate), the average Congolese woman gives birth 5.8 times in her life (the third highest rate in the world according to wordpopulationreview.com<\/a>). Besides simply the frequency of such occurrences, Kitindi specifically is a small town, where \u201ceveryone knows each other\u201d in the colloquial sense, community is emphasized, and word travels fast. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The combination of these factors has brought to my attention two deaths that occurred last month and has also taught me some customs and procedures concerning births. The deaths were a bit removed from our immediate community\u2014they were both relatives of members of our small, 60-person church. After the service on September 18, a throng of congregants left the service together to walk a short five minutes to the house of Willy Wasso Witte (or “W”), one of our church\u2019s pastors who also happens to be the school\u2019s chaplain, soccer coach, and a teacher of some courses in the social science specialization. I forget whom he had lost recently\u2014perhaps it was an uncle. We gathered outside his low, mud-walled and leaf-roofed house, standing under the shade of a tree while he and his family sat among us, and then we began to sing. I do not remember the songs, nor did I understand them anyway, but at the time they sounded just like the other Swahili and Lingala worship songs we typically sing at church, including some of the theological words that I might recognize. As we sang, a shallow woven container, like one typically used to hold cassava or wheat flour, was produced, and everyone began making contributions to it: <\/span>cinq cent francs <\/span>here, <\/span>mille francs <\/span>there (about 25<\/span>\u00a2 and 50\u00a2, respectively), three cassava root tubers, a bowl of brown beans, some rice. People reached for their pockets, or some others who had brought foodstuffs with them deposited what they had carried. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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NOTE: I really wish I had a picture of this basket to share, but it seemed disrespectful at the time to take one, so I do not.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The next week, we repeated this visit with another household, this one being that of the only person I\u2019ve ever met to bear my own name (Ghanaian Kwabena\u2019s do not count\u2014the etymology is different). Mr. Kwabene, too, was a former pastor of our church, now a congregant only, and I had met him in 2017 when I first visited Kitindi (and now teach one of his daughters in 7th grade). People refer to him as my <\/span>homonyme <\/span>or namesake, though my being called Kwabene has nothing to do with him. He himself wasn\u2019t actually home when we visited to offer our condolences for the loss of his brother\u2014he was in a different village, presumably that of his late sibling where other family members lived. Instead, we sang with his wife, again offering gifts to support the mourning family. In both instances, we visitors, mostly composed of my teaching colleagues, visited these homes not unhappily, but solemnly, dutifully, and generously in support of our community members, knowing they would do the same for us. Such are the dealings with death\u2014at least in these cases, one-degree removed\u2014among our church family.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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All the while, my aunt\u2019s pregnancy grew larger and larger in the month of September. I hadn\u2019t seen a pregnant woman in a while, but she seemed due any day, though still going about household chores and teaching a few hours weekly despite it all. Henri had a conversation with her in mid-September which explained her size\u2014she was expecting twins, some time in mid-October. Every day that passed worried us slightly, concerned and uncertain about how childbirth in a village like this would play out. There are two \u201chospitals\u201d that I\u2019m aware of, though I have entered neither and don\u2019t intend to unless I have great need. Both buildings are single-storey and resemble what I would refer to as a clinic. I\u2019m not sure how extensive their staffing and capabilities are, but we\u2019ve had members of our extended household visit several times in the last month to treat malaria or other ailments. <\/span><\/span>
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Anyway, I was on a Facetime call with a friend (hi) over the weekend, when I received a text from my uncle. He mentioned his wife\u2019s name and some words I didn\u2019t understand, so I didn\u2019t look closely until my call was done. It turns out that one of the words I didn\u2019t get was French for <\/span>contractions! <\/span>He asked for prayer as Aunt Suzanna had gone into labor and was at the nearest hospital. <\/span>Gloire a Dieu<\/span> not three hours later, the twins were born! All went smoothly and quickly (<\/span>gloire a Dieu <\/span>again), and our extended household became a bit frenzied. Because of <\/span>Bwami<\/span> society rules (a hierarchical cultural and social structure of the Lega people), my uncle was not permitted to be present for the birth. Around 11pm when we began to hear shouts and whoops from his house nearby, Henri and I hurried over to join. Another aunt and a woman I didn\u2019t recognize were excitedly dancing in the living room, preparing to bring sugar and other support to the mother and newborns. We congratulated our uncle and went back into the house to sleep, only to be awoken by more dancing and shouting around 2am.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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On October 25, 2020, exactly two years from today, some friends from college and I made medium-term bucket lists. Mine included such items as \u201cwrite and\/or direct a film, short or otherwise\u201d (done), \u201clive in the Congo for one (1) year\u201d (bet), and \u201chave a child named after me.\u201d At that time, I remember joking that those latter two could probably be done at once, and I guess the writers liked the idea. On Saturday, October 22, a girl and a boy were both born and named after \u201cthe most important guests of the year\u201d \u2014Carrie Anne (after my mother) and Kwabene. True <\/span>homonymes<\/span> indeed! Unfortunately, because of the hospital\u2019s procedures to protect newborns, no visitors (not even the father) are permitted to visit until the patients are discharged, so I have not yet been able to meet Kwabene, though I dearly look forward to that day. In the meantime, word has traveled, meaning villagers have approached both me and my uncle requesting gifts. Some of these have been my own students; others include a group of six men dancing and singing in my uncle\u2019s living room Sunday afternoon. Upon their departure, he remarked wryly that when Jesus was born, the magi came and <\/span>brought<\/span> gifts to Mary and Joseph, but everyone here just wants him to give them beer. Whenever someone asks me for a gift, I respond in the most forceful French I can muster, \u201cWhy? Did <\/span>you <\/span>carry two babies for 9 months?\u201d and they laugh and give up. Notably, though, from house calls to gift exchanges, such events as births and death are a village matter, in terms of both who\u2019s aware and who\u2019s involved. Like always, these matters are delicate, a trait only compounded by where we live, making it all the more important to <\/span>rejoice with those who rejoice<\/span> and <\/span>mourn with those who mourn<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I will be an unpaid volunteer teacher at Union Academique de Kitindi for the 2022-23 academic year. Please consider giving as you are able by clicking the button below or adressing a check to International Berean Ministries and including my name on the memo line. Donations cover room, board, and travel expenses.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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International Berean Ministries<\/span><\/p>

PO Box 88311<\/span><\/p>

Kentwood, MI 49518-0311<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGIVE<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to ourworldindata.org, there are about 190,000 deaths and over twice as many births (385,000) per day around the world. Given my stage of life, I have tended not to experience close proximity to either. However, living in Kitindi means that the frequency of both occurrences is higher than I\u2019ve otherwise experienced. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[33,34,30,21,31],"class_list":["post-789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-baby","tag-birth","tag-death","tag-kitindi","tag-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=789"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":856,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789\/revisions\/856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}