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LOHADA children at play |
Saying goodbye to a good friend
By Emily Churchman
At the beginning of our organization (LOHADA)'s existence, there was one woman
sitting under a tree in town, singing and playing with the children of people
who begged during the day. That was before we were registered, before the Board
of Trustees, before the Constitution, Strategic Plan, even before we had an
organizational email address. It was even before there was much of a 'we';
mostly it was just 'she' - Happiness Wambura, the current director.
It was in those early days that Mrs. Wambura first met Agnes Kessy-Righolt
through a mutual friend. Mrs. Kessy-Righolt's work required her to be out and
about in town and she came to know a lot of people that way. She had an open
personality and many people instantly felt comfortable around her. 'When I
wanted someone to talk to, she was there,' Mrs. Wambura says.
When LOHADA moved into a row of rented rooms, Mrs. Kessy-Righolt came to visit
and promptly began her own informal search for a better place. Although the
place she eventually found didn't work out, Mrs. Wambura reports that her spirit
and her habit of talking about 'our children' were infectious; 'She was there at
the beginning, and most importantly, she was our friend,' Mrs. Wambura says.
As time went on, LOHADA moved again to a new building, acquired staff and then
more children and more supporters. Mrs. Kessy-Righolt continued to visit,
bringing her ideas and enthusiasm for the organization that was gradually moving
forward. Sometimes she came with her own child, often bringing hand-me-down
clothes or toys, and visiting with the children for ten or 15 minutes if she
could.
AI remember once she told me that she had gone to drop off some toys and clothes
for the kids and as she was getting in the car to go, the children came and
said, 'Thank you, but next time please bring us some shoes', and that affected
her very much,' recalls her husband, Alex Righolt.
Later, LOHADA began to have more friends in Tanzania and overseas, established a
website and a paying volunteer program, and Mrs. Kessy-Righolt continued with
her myriad large and small acts of kindness. She was always offering her home as
shelter for people who needed it, or linking people who needed help with places
that provided it, and often just listening sympathetically and helping people to
work through their own problems. 'Rather than just say pole she tried to do
something to do good, to help,' Mr. Righolt says.
'There was a time, 'Mrs. Wambura says, 'when I was desperate and I tried to find
her to talk to her but [I was unable]'. At that time, Mrs. Kessy-Righolt was
already ill, and after a long struggle, she passed away late last year.
Unfortunately she never got to see LOHADA in its newest incarnation - 25
children in a nice building that LOHADA owns - the culmination of a long process
that she contributed to. With her passing, we lost a valuable supporter who had
helped us from the beginning; more importantly, we lost our friend.
To find out more about LOHADA's activities, please visit our website:
www.lohada.org .
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