So the reason that I am starting my photos with the same photo from my last blog entry is that it shows Daudi and myself graduating from training together in August. This is important because since that time he has passed away. He went into the hospital with stomach pain, had surgery, and lived two days. He was born in 1987, had a wife and two children, one three years, and one 6 months.
Far be it from me to criticize the health care system from another country. I think some of my posts demonstrate the conditions that people face, and I do think that the healthcare workers do the best with what they have. The problem is they have very little. I recently spoke with a doctor who told me about the shortages of diagnostic tools. There are no ultrasound machines and very few glucometers in our entire district containing many healthcare clinics. I won't even mention Xray or MRI machines.
I have decided that I would also mention the mourning period and funeral. I want to talk about it because it is so different from ours, and because I was asked to explain our own system numerous times. I think there is definitely something to be learned from them in this area. Immediately upon learning of his death I was summoned to his house. Upon arrival I found many people sitting around in chairs and on the ground. They seemed to be just doing their own thing, some talking, some playing cards, and some just sitting there. I didn't really know what to do so I just sat there with everyone else. At some point during the day his wife and children arrived and were ushered into the house. We just stayed there, community members coming and going until you needed to leave, then you just left. The next day we were back again. Just sitting around, this day included the students who also sat in their own groups and talked. Later in the day the body arrived and we had a more formal funeral like we would recognize. The third day we were off to his home city by bus for the actual burial.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the reason we sat around was to show support for the family. The whole community came and went. There was food and conversation and intense discussions about his family and the school and what was going to happen next. It's not a cheerful picture. His wife will receive some money, but not enough to sustain them for long. For that reason the hat was passed around several times for donations, and people gave even though they don't have much themselves. His passing was a community loss, and the community mourned together.
So this blog post is a Memorial to Daudi Pastory. He was a good man, honest, hard working, and a good family man. It was a pleasure to have worked with him for this short period of time, I just wish it could have been longer.
Please take a minute to say a prayer for him. He was very curious and used to ask many questions about America. I know he would be proud to know that there were many people on the other side of the world thinking and praying for him. Maybe that will make you all a member of our little community.
Photos:
Daudi and I graduating in August.
The body arrives, the students line the road leading to the school and his home.
The funeral service included many different religious, political, and educational leaders.
A beautiful sunrise out my front door. No matter how bad it gets, it still rises everyday.
