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Helping needy Malagasy kids to become Jesus’ kids! December 2009 Volume 12, Number 12 "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with
the poor." Proverbs
22:9 |
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Two More Betikara Children Orphaned
In June of 2009 I wrote about the Death of Sarobidy, Robina,
Fitahiantsoa, and Fitiavana’s father. That was the first time any of the
Betikara Lambs experienced the death of one of their mothers or fathers.
Betikara requires the extended family to produce at least one death
certificate of a mother or father before Betikara will accept any needy
children. Sarobidy, Robina, Fitahiantsoa, and Fitiavana lost their father
in June. Their mother had died shortly before they were placed in Betikara
by their father back in July of 2005. The Betikara Lambs often attend
burials for other family members (grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.),
but none as close as a mother or father.
Now, I find myself writing again. On November 6, 2009 the father of
Colombe and Freda passed away. (Their mother had died before they were
placed in Betikara back in August of 2006.) The day of the week was a
Friday, and I was already scheduled to be out at the orphanage to pass out
the weekly supplies and money that is used for buying vegetables that are
needed for feeding the Lambs. Because the Betikara caregivers already knew
that I was coming out to Betikara they knew there was no need to call me.
I was in no way expecting to hear news of the death of Colombe and Freda’s
father. Their father had just been out to visit his two daughters and to
worship with us the previous Sunday. At that time he looked fine. Sudden
deaths in Madagascar are normal because the people are often afraid to go
to the doctor or they do not have any money to go to the doctor when they
become ill.
Needless to say, everything that I had planned to do that Friday was
thrown over to allow for us to attend to the needs of Colombe and Freda.
They quickly gathered together some clothes and we all loaded into the
vehicle. There were 10 of us in a vehicle that is registered to carry 8
people. This is not unusual in Madagascar. By the time we got everything
together and reached town close to where Colombe and Freda’s extended
family live we found that we could not have timed our arrival any better.
The vehicle that was bringing the body of Colombe and Freda’s father from
the hospital arrived not 5 minutes after our arrival. We followed the
procession to the house that was chosen for displaying the body of their
loved one and waited for the family to arrange the body and the furniture
so that they could properly receive visitors.
As we waited for the family to prepare the room, more and more people were
arriving at the house in order to pay their respect to the extended
family. When our group finally were ushered into the room we found that
the body had been placed on a table in the corner of the room. A mosquito
net had been hung from the walls of the house and draped down over the
body and around the table to keep away the flies. There were also several
candles burning in strategic places as is the normal Malagasy custom at
wakes.
We stood before the family (minus Colombe and Freda who were still
standing outside the house on the sidewalk) and followed the traditional
Malagasy custom of talking with the family of the deceased. The visiting
group talks first expressing their sorrow at the passing of a friend or
loved one. Then one family member speaks on behalf of the deceased’s
family. Once this is done the visiting group speaks again and gives an
envelope of money to the family as a small token of help for the bereaving
family. At this time the visiting group often times sings a song or prays
and then asks the family for their permission to leave the room and make
way for other people or groups that are waiting to express their
condolences to the grieving family.
The whole visiting process takes about 10 minutes for each group of people
that stand before the family that has lost a family member. We knew that
we would be back with the family in a couple of days, as soon as the
family decided at what time the burial would take place. We also knew that
we would attend the burial and support Colombe and Freda as best we could.
The burial took place on November 8, 2009 and on November 18, 2009 a group
of 35 students and two teachers from the school that Colombe attends
walked 1.5 miles one way to come to the Betikara Orphanage to express
their condolences to Colombe. This was interesting to experience, since I
was considered as part of Betikara and a part of Colombe’s family. Five of
us including Colombe sat instead of stood, and were on the receiving end
of this Malagasy tradition. One of the students was chosen to speak on
behalf of the student group, and it was interesting to note that he was
very nervous and careful to make sure that he followed the strict
guidelines for this Malagasy funeral process.
Needless to say, Colombe and Freda were crying and very upset at the
untimely passing of their father. They are doing better now, but we ask
that you lift them and us up to the Father as we go through this time of
transition and adjustment. |
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Indiana Church of Christ “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him
for what he has done.”
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