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| Precious Kamanga |
Precious
Kamanga, born black but beautiful was a joy to know. To me who had the pleasure
and privilege of meeting her, being friends with her, interacting with her as
family, she was a blessing to know, indeed she had a kind of warmth that’s so
wonderful and rare, a happy and joyful smile that was such a joy to share, she
carried her own joy and sunshine with her wherever she went and it made the
happiest moments for all. Indeed some people are praised in their death just
for the sake of it, but for my sister Precious, she was a wonderful person, she
was a shoulder to depend on when you were in want, in need, in lack, in pain,
etc, she lent an ear even when you were saying things seemingly meaningless to
other listeners. She was an arm you could trust to pull you along when you were
giving up, a friend and sister you could trust to keep that embarrassing
secret.
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| Precious
with Tamara in Chingola |
She
opened her life to everyone, her home was a haven for many a soul, her money
and belongings, she gave and shared cheerfully. She had a ready laugh, joked
with many, always willing to offer support and consolation to many, she never
chose basing on sex, creed, caste or colour, she mingled with the rich and
poor, dirty and clean, black and whites alike and she had no trouble fitting in
as she was a flexible yet reserved person. Yes, Precious was impartial. Yes she
was human and had her limits when her patience was tried. But she didn’t stay
angry for too long and was willing to talk, make amends, as well as compromise
for the sake of peace. She would scold in the most loving of ways.
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| From
right to left: Mum, Precious and her two friends |
Precious
Kamanga, really loved her God and was a committed Christian, brought up and
groomed in a Christian family of Baptists, she was given to learning more on
her God and encouraging others in the faith. Many a time when things were going
wrong, she would encourage you to lean and wait on God, yes, she believed her
God was able and never doubted Him and her God was faithful to her to the end.
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| From
left to right: Precious, mum and chimwemwe in Chingola |
Precious
Kamanga was a lady with a bright future ahead of her, she was intelligent and
was open to learning, and she was very hard working and a risk taker. She learnt
to fend for herself from a tender age. She was not too good enough for any odd job
as long as it would guarantee her financial independence; from till teller in Shoprite,
to sales lady at Maina Soko Pub, to Administrator at Lufwanyama District
Council, she ran in between different tasks with much eloquence and was well
versed in whatever her expected task was “when duty called!”
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| Left
to right: Ruth, Precious and Phoebe |
Well
learned and equipped with a Degree in Business Administration obtained from
NIEC School of Business, she still aimed high, indeed for her, the sky was the
limit and that is why after a few months of serving as Administrator with
Lufwanyama District Council, she was sponsored to go for her Diploma Program at
Chalimbana Local Government College to study Local Government Administration.
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| Precious
(center) with her 4 cousins at a family wedding in Kitwe |
Despite
being the angel she was to many of us, she had her shortcomings, in her final
year, she fell pregnant for another student and would have given birth to her
bouncy baby in August but it seems God had different plans. She had repented of
her wrong doing, she was planning to have that child and had a suitcase full of
clothes and blankets bought in readiness for the new born baby but her plans
and our plans were not Gods plans. She past well with a Merit in her school at
Chalimbana and was a diploma holder waiting to officially graduate later in
September 2011 when God called her home.
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| This
was the last family photo taken a month before she died |
On
this material day, 9th July, 2011, it was a day like any other and
she complained of some pain in the stomach but brushed it off for the normal pain
which pregnant women occasionally go through and thus left it on till twas too
late. Her Blood Pressure shot. At about 21:00 hours she began to convulse and
lost consciousness. She was rushed to the clinic by Phoebe our youngest sister
and a good neighbor and at the clinic, they were informed that her condition
needed immediate medical attention which could be obtained from a big medical
institution in this case, Kitwe Central Hospital which lies many Kilometers
away from Lufwanyama.
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| Racheal, Ruth and me paying our last respect to Precious |
Yes,
she needed immediate medical attention as convulsions in pregnancy are common
but dangerous; unfortunately all that the staff at the clinic could afford her
was clinical attention. She had to be held up on the side to avoid her lying
flat while looking up which could cause choking as she was unconscious. To make
matters worse, the ambulance at the clinic had no gas and they were asked to
wait till morning and time was running out, in desperation, Phoebe had to make
phone calls to mom and dad. That is not a phone call that a parent wants to
receive close to midnight, mom and dad couldn’t wait till the morning and thus
a few minutes past midnight, they were on the road, first to Kitwe to refuel the
family bus then they drove in the night to Lufwanyama, the road is extremely
bad and almost impassable, but to a parent, it did not matter, they had to get
there. Before 5 o’clock on Sunday 10th July, they were in Lufwanyama
at the clinic looking at the sapped out and unconscious dear daughter, by Gods
grace, the ambulance was readied and mom drove with her in the back of the
ambulance and the bad, deep-potholed road did not help the situation at all.
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| Phoebe
in black pays her last respect to Precious |
The
bumpy road was surely not good for my sister and the baby, by 08:00hrs, they
were at Kitwe Central Hospital and she was still unconscious, blowing her mouth
and salivating and shivering, oh what a sorry sight to see my once brave and
strong sister unconscious, nothing prepared us for the events of that day, according
to the nurse when asked, her condition was normal was getting better and stable
by the minute, and by 13hrs, she was indeed looking a lot better.
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| Dad so-rounded by Pastors O. Sichula, E. Sakala & K. Kabwe pays his last respect to Precious |
They
should have separated mother and baby on time seeing that she was already 8 months
along, but they didn’t, was it negligence, I wonder, maybe it was just the will
of God. Her feet were getting cold, I brushed it off thinking she was feeling
cold, well, she was indeed looking very stable as she slept, but at 15hrs, she
turned again, and a few minutes later, our dear loving sister gave up the
ghost, she answered the Lords call. Both mother and baby died, oh what a loss
it was.
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| Mum
in (center) pays her last respect to Precious |
Precious
seemed to know her time was up and that is why, her last status update on
Facebook was an extract from her favourite hymn, “All the way my Saviour leads
me” and all she wrote was, “All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask
beside…” it was painful, it is painful and will be painful for long, but she
was ready and when the Master called, she answered and slept peacefully. Her
lifeless body lay so peacefully on that Hospital Bed in Kalungwishi Ward at
Kitwe Central Hospital. It was hard to believe, still hard to believe, yes fate
dealt us a bad hand. She will always be dear to us, she will always hold a
special place in our hearts, she will always be remembered for her kind deeds
and selfless love she showed to all, yes, the void she has left can never be filled.
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| Dad
and mum lay the wreaths |
Her
death came as a blow, a huge blow to the family, a mighty blow to all her
friends and workmates and indeed a very great loss to the man she loved and father
of her unborn child. She will be remembered as the hardworking lady who had so
much passion and a big heart to accommodate and tolerate most of us. She was a friend and sister INDEED! She
endeavored at all times to live up to her name; she was precious and a rare gem
to all of us. But she is in a better place. She was laid to rest at Leopards
Hill Cemetery in Lusaka on the 13th of July, 2011.
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| Precious' grave on 13th July 2011 |
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| Cleaning Precious grave in readiness of the tomb stone (10th August 2012) |
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| Me, Ruth and Phoebe cleaning our sister's grave (10th August 2012) |
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| Me - supervising the fitting of the tomb stone (11th August 2012) |
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| Precious' grave after putting the tomb Stone (17th August 2012) |
Rest in peace sister Precious Kamanga, till we meet again on the other side
