A family in Uyoma, Siaya county has been thrown into mourning following the death of their beloved daughter, Mary Awino.
Mary, who attended ACK St. Peter’s Itumbu Secondary School, passed away barely three weeks before the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), leaving her loved ones deeply in mourning.
Reports indicate that the young lady had been unwell for a short period before she succumbed. He death hit many hard as she was also preparing to sit her KCSE examinations this year, the final milestone in her secondary school journey.
She is set to be buried at her home in Uyoma, near Luanda Kotieno in Rarieda Sub-County, Siaya County on Tuesday, September 29.
A Future That Was Never Realised
Like thousands of Form Four students across Kenya, Mary had been working towards her national examinations, carrying with her the hopes and expectations of her family and teachers.
Her death, coming so close to that finish line, has made the loss feel particularly cruel to those who knew her.
The news of her passing rippled through her school community, with classmates and teachers left to come to terms with the sudden absence of someone they had shared classrooms and corridors with for years.
Kenyans Send Condolences
Online, Kenyans who came across the news responded with an outpouring of sympathy for the family and school.
Plato Patric wrote:
“Passing my condolences too. It’s not easy but I’ll urge the rest to stay strong, focused and prayerful. So much sorry for the school and family.”
Linnet Oduory Nyar Mwalimu said:
“Losing a student who was preparing for her Form Four exams is such a painful reminder of how fragile life is. My deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Itumbu Secondary School fraternity.”
Phoebe Auma Magambo added:
“It’s very painful. May God give the family strength during this trying moment.”
Lucy Ong’oli shared her grief in Swahili:
“Hata kama sijui wazazi AKI nmefeel there pain, ni uchungu Sana, imeniuma Sana, pole Sana sana, na Kama imemgarimu mkono wa mtu mungu amushugulikie aki, na kama ni mapenzi ya mungu tena jina lake litukuzwe Kwa Yale anatuamulia ju maisha yetu iko mikononi mwake na anauwezo WA kutuchukua Kwa wakati wowote r.i.p Mary.”
To her classmates, teachers and everyone who loved her, Mary’s memory endures even as she makes her final journey home.
