Today in Kiziba Camp there was a funeral for one of the members of our Income Generation Program and as we drove out of the camp we passed a nearly endless stream of mourners returning from the cemetery.
How sad to die without being able to return to one’s homeland, and yet, how affirming to see that even in this relatively isolated place where life is so difficult people still take the time to mourn those whom they have lost.
But sometimes the news is good.
Today I learned that my friend Dancille along with her whole family has been resettled to Australia. They left Kiziba Camp in December. Many, many refugees apply for such “reinstallations” as they are called but very few are given the opportunity to go. The lucky ones are often chosen based on their ability to contribute in their new home countries, by virtue of education, skills, leadership and language ability.
Dancille has all of those things. Some of you may remember her from these photos, taken in 2004, when we first met. I told you her story then, the wife of a high school principal in Congo, gracious and intelligent and warm, who fled with her family after the death of her own parents and raised six children in the camp. She also became a leader in the camp community and a great advocate and example for our program.
Dancille, I will miss you, but I am overjoyed to hear of your safe departure for a better life. May you find peace and happiness and some measure of recompense for all that you lost back in Congo.
Bon voyage.
No comments:
Post a Comment