MOTHER OF FIVE LAID TO REST
   
The family of the late Sister Anne Kisivuli stand beside the casket at the Oakland Cemetery in Dracut MA, as the final rites for the burial of their loved mother are performed .From Left to right, The Senior Kisivuli who had just flown in from Kenya , Daughter, Hope, Sons , Boaz, Elijah, Joseph, their dad, Kenneth Kisivuli and daughter Meda Pic by H.Maina/AjabuImages

By AjabuAfrica.com
Lowell, MA
05/22/2008

A Lowell mother of five who recently died after a short illness was laid to rest at her final resting place in Dracut, Massachusetts, on Monday, May 19, 2008 as her entire family watched solemnly.

Sister Anne Kisivuli had emigrated with her family from Kenya and settled in Lowell barely two years ago after winning the diversity lottery visa, popularly known as the green card. Kisivuli family originated from Western Kenya and belongs to the Luhya ethnic group.

Before the family could get well known and established within the Kenyan immigrant community in Lowell, Anne Kisivuli suddenly fell ill and passed away shortly thereafter April 30th, 2008, at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

However, as a result of the sudden death, the Kenyan community in Lowell organized a quick funds drive which was conducted at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Lowell on Sunday, May 18, 2008. About $15,000 was raised. 

Kisivuli family attends a church that is largely frequented by people from DR Congo. Their church Minister, Pastor Jean Kadima, also attended the fund-raising event in the company of several congregants. St. Stephens Anglican Church is a Kenyan Community Church. The memorial service was held at CCF, another church frequented by Kenyans.

Speaking during the memorial service, the late Anne’s husband, Mr. Kenneth Kisivuli, showered praise for his wife of 25 years. He caused a light moment when he recounted a question that Americans frequently asked him at the funeral home.

 “Some people at the funeral home asked me how I managed to stay married for 25 years?” Mr. Kisivuli recounted. “And I told them, well, it is through love and forgiveness,” he added. Mr. Kisivuli said that since he met and married his wife at Thika in Central Kenya, both of them never waited for the other to apologize when they knew the other was wrong. “If you want a long lasting relationship, don’t wait for the other person to always say sorry,” Mr. Kisivuli advised the mourners. “Anne always apologized and was very hard working,” he added.

Rev.Bishop Karaya, of the CCF Church in Lowell who was very instrumental in organizing the logistics for the fund raising and burial of Anne Kisivuli

Pastor Najim, from Lebanon, preaching the word of God during the memorial service

The service was led by Bishop Rev. David Karaya, the Pastoral Chairman of the African Community at his multi-cultural CCF Church in Lowell.

The late Anne’s two daughters, Hope and Meda, sang an inspiring song titled ‘Don’t cry for me’, in honor of their late mother. The song inspired and touched the main preacher of the day, Rev. Najim, so much that he declared he would like the same song sang at his funeral. Rev. Najim who has a wife from Egypt , hails from Lebanon and is a Senior Pastor at CCF Church.

Pastor Najim challenged the African community in Lowell to reach out and help the family that has lost its mother. “Rise up and  be a mother to these children, so that they can continue to grow in the fear of the Lord and in the African culture that you all brought to this foreign land,” Pastor Najim urged the people.

The late Anne’s former pastor in Kenya, Pastor Obadiah Kamwati, who happened to be in the USA for his daughter’s graduation, got the sad news of Anne’s death and attended the funeral service.

The late Anne's daughters, Hope and Meda, sing a song for the soul of their departed mother

A cross section of the caring community who came to pay final respects to the late Anne Kisivuli as well as console the bereaved family at the cemetery in Dracut, MA

Pastor Obadiah Kamwati spoke at the memorial service and reminded the mourners that the bible says that a man born of a woman is of a few days in this world and that the days are full of trouble. He therefore asked people to live Godly lives so that God can turn them from creatures of time to creatures of eternity.

After the memorial service, the funeral procession snaked through the congested streets of Lowell in drizzling weather to the Oakland cemetery in Dracut where the body was laid at its final resting place. Only a handful of mourners managed to beat the traffic in time for the funeral. 

Sister Anne Kisivuli was born on 2/2/1962. She was mother to Meda Kisivuli of Brandeis University, Hope of Lowell High School, Boaz & Elijah of Robbinson Middle School, Joseph of Varnum Elementary School and the late David & Ruth.
 

Story by AjabuAfrica.com staffer
Lowell, MA
05/22/2008