Drew's African Odyssey - Mwange Refugee Camp, Zambia

We held a workshop for coaches in the camp today, but received shocking news upon our arrival in the camp. It seems one of the coaches who was instrumental in starting Right to Play activities in the camp for its first couple of years was tragically killed back in the Congo. The man's name was Kans and when he was in the camp, he lived to work with RTP. Both Peter and Sophie were very close to him. We heard that he died in a car accident, as the family of his wife still resides in the camp. There were a lot of tears as we stopped by his relatives house to bring them condolences and food and drink. The grieving process for these people is quite extreme: you can hear people crying from half way across the camp and this will continue for a couple of days. On the third day, they go to the cemetery and then most people will proceed to the bar and drink their sorrows away. I get the feeling that the family unit is so much more tight knit than what I am used to at home. Family members rely on each other for every aspect of their livelihoods. We heard that the brother of Kans would be asked to look after his widow (ie. Be married to her) which is a quite common practice among widows. I feel really bad for Sophie and Peter because of how sad they are. Kans was somebody with a big future in front of him and had returned to the Congo as he was accepted into university (so rare in this area of the world). It is because of Kans that the program has been so successful in Mwange and he will be missed.

Posted by: Drew Gardiner / 2:31 PM