Better Societies

 WIDOWHOOD AND CHILDLESSNESS by Zwandien Bobai Nnyeni became a widow shortly after her sons, Da‌̱wali and Zwaa‌̱khu got married to Ndi and Kuvwuon as their young wives. Di‌̱dam, her husband had been bedridden for years before his eventual demise with what appeared to be a stroke. While he was in the condition, he suffered amnesia, too. He left the wife, Nnyeni and the young couples to fend and cater for themselves! Theirs was a context in which women did not work and young men like Da‌̱wali and Zwaa‌̱khu were not trusted with any responsibility since it was reasoned that they could not deliver. This family was left in a quagmire. In such unbearable condition, the sons left to continue the lineage of Di‌̱dam also died after just 18 months. They had gone to farm on that fateful day to harvest sweet potatoes across the stream known as A‌̱khaak which served as the boundary between A‌̱taknjei, their village and A‌̱shonga‌̱shyui, their mother’s ancestral village. They did not know it had...

ON THE POPULAR "REST IN PEACE" (RIP) PRAYER: CAUTION FROM PROF B.A. SARMA Prof B.A. Sarma in an Alumni platform observed that anytime there are announcements about the passing of alumni members, many people respond with "Rest in Peace." He responds accordingly in the paragraph below, thus: "'May his gentle soul rest with the Lord Almighty' has become a popular prayer for the dead. But this is Catholic and Muslim tradition who pray for the dead. Surprisingly, it has now gained ground even among ECWA elites and theologians! From an evangelical perspective, no prayer or wish could alter the fate of anyone who died. From our evangelical heritage, we praise the Lord because our loved one is now resting with the Lord until we meet to part no more!" Not long after he asserted the views above, members continued to use the prayer. So, Prof Sarma corroborates further that "We are back to this again. Grammatically, 'may his soul rest with the Lord...