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By:
Harrison Maina | |||||||||
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Mar,16-2018 21:55:57
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Members of the Ajabu Diaspora Support Network Group who had donated the bulk of the $2,100 raised three months ago in aid of Steve Mwangi, the reportedly "very sick" Kenyan army veteran at that time, then withheld the funds when Mwangi failed to produce evidence of his sickness, have unanimously decided to redirect the money towards burial funds for the late Victor Onyango Ang'awa, a Kenyan member of the group who passed away last week in his apartment in Framingham, MA. In addition to the previously raised funds, members also donated an additional $600 for Victor's burial, bringing the new total to around $2,700. The funds will be handed over to the fundraising committee and family of the late Ang'awa during the main memorial and fund raising ceremony slated for tomorrow, Saturday March 16 at the CCF Church, 105 Princeton Boulevard in Lowell around 6pm soon after the memorial service that will take place at the Morse Bayliss Funeral Home located next to the church venue. The funeral home located at 122 Princeton Boulevard. According to the group members, the action was necessary in order to safeguard donated funds from misappropriation when it turned out that Mwangi had grossly exaggerated the nature of his illness and provided some inaccurate information to the media when hospitalized at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston in December last year after suffering two strokes. Due to the perceived seriousness of the alleged terminal stomach cancer illness faced by Mwangi, a committee of four Kenyans including a clergyman held a meeting with Mwangi at his then apartment in Lowell in an effort to help plan for a bigger fundraiser to help him avoid eviction and car repossession he had been facing when he lost his job during an extended hospital stay. During the meeting, concerned members of the committee advised Mwangi to appoint a medical proxy who would accompany him to the hospital to verify the nature of his illness since he had inaccurately claimed that he had no close relative living in USA, only for an uncle to surface after media reports of the illness. Mwangi failed to provide evidence of his terminal illness, claiming that the hospital would not provide him with documented diagnosis of the "suspected stomach cancer" as he informed the public by word of mouth. Unfortunately, Mwangi did not show up for an appointment set up to visit the doctor in the company of a designated medical proxy due to the absence of a close family member who would serve the role. Due to the unfortunate developments, members of the group debate the issue and decided to withhold and disburse the funds for a "more deserving case" if it happens in the future. A few other donors demanded a refund of their donations which was immediately refunded, while all donations from other well-wishers who donated upon learning of the illness from the press accounts, were among the total funds held and now redirected to the late Ang'awa's funeral. The funds had been raised mainly through a Go –FundMe online account created by Ajabu Media for the effort ($1,605) while about $700 were raised via a CashApp account.
Members thanked Ajabu Media for doing necessary due diligence on the illness claim, a move that helped protect the funds, which comes in handy since members did not need to donate again for the dead member. However, willing members with extra funds to spare still donated again towards the late Victor's burial while others plan to do the same during the fundraiser tomorrow. According to reliable sources, the previously ailing Kenyan man was able to recover sufficiently from his condition, found a new job as a nurse and reorganized his living situation, a far much brighter picture than the previously painted of "terminal illness", thus no longer required the help envisioned by the Ajabu Diaspora Network Group when the news of the new death by Victor Ang'awa hit. Before the untimely death, the late Ang'awa had been an active member of the Ajabu Diaspora Network that debates on various ways to produce diaspora grown solutions to many of the social, political, cultural and economic problems facing the African Diaspora. Unfortunately, he was found dead in his apartment last week on Sunday March 3 by his landlord, barely a few hours after he had been seen up and about the yard around his Framingham Apartment. The cause of death is still under investigation.
The late Ang'awa's father, Prof. Francis Ang'awa of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University in Bondo, Kenya, accompanied by his son, Jack Ang’awa arrived in Boston last Friday to take part on the funeral planning and shipping of the body back home for burial. The Memorial service will start at 4pm at the Morse Bayliss Funeral Home, 106 Princeton Ave, followed by the fundraiser at the CCF church next nearby. Members of the Kenyan community and well-wishers were urged to turn out in large numbers to help raise enough funds to repatriate the body back home for burial according to the wishes of the family. Well-wishers who have extra room in their apartments were urged to reach out to the organizing committee to help accommodate expected out of state friends of the late Victor who may need a place to stay for a day or two as they attend the memorial. The Ajabu Diaspora Support Network group is free membership group comprised of over 200 members from different African immigrant communities mostly in USA and Canada. In addition to brainstorming for diaspora based solutions for problems faced during their lives as live and work in foreign lands, members of the group agree to contribute a minimum of $10 towards assisting any member facing extreme illness or death either to themselves or to a member of their basic family unit. The funds so raised go a long way to provide emergency help within 24 hours before a member receives any extra help from other sources including their churches, mosques or insurance companies. The fast growing group still has room for more members and those wishing to join can text/WhatsApp their name, mobile phone number and State of residence to: 781-953-2490 or register via the link below: signup.php Donors who donated to the Steve Mwangi sickness and may still require refunds or need more information are also urged to contact Ajabu Media using the same contact number. To contact the organizing committee, call: Shadrack Ondo- Chairman:857-244-3875 Viva Inyagwa-Secretary:508-579-2745 Abel Okoth-Financial management:508-933-2262 | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICAN NEWS
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