Maurin Abibu
RIP: 1997 - 8 May 2006

Last week, all the students in our school sat their exams. Maurin Abibu was no exception. Today they all came back to school for the first day of term two. Except Maurin.

Yesterday, trying to cross a river after recent heavy rain, Maurin and two other children were swept away by the strong current. The other two were able to cling to a tree. Maurin wasn't as lucky. She was swept away and drowned.

Maurin was in Standard 2B. She came to the school when it first opened - she was around the twentieth student to be enrolled. When she died, Maurin was nine (9) years old, and the eldest of three children (she had two brothers). Her parents are separated and they family are poor as most of the children in the school. A good and quiet student, Maurin worked hard. In January, I gave her a new uniform. Only a few months ago Maurin's cousin died tragically. Now the family is mourning their second loss in as many months.

This type of death (drowning by being swept away) happens much more frequently that you would ever imagine, particularly n the rainy season. Only today a student answered a question in Science homework which read "describe an accident that you have seen". He wrote somethign to the effect of "One day I see a man fall down in the street and the water take him away"

This is the fifth such death that I've heard of in the last couple of months. They all made me sad but when it's a child that you have contact with, it seems much worse though it shouldn't really. But it does.

This it's tragic and it's awful - and yet it probably won't make the news beyond the local paper. But tonight there's a family within les than a kilometre of here, grieving for their only daughter or sister or niece.

Rest in Peace Maurin
If you are so inclined, please keep Maurin and her family in your thoughts/ prayers.