Upon moving to Senegal, I moved in with a girl who really liked to hug people. Kate & I lived in a truly West African apartment. We were the only white people on our street. One day, our West African plumbing went to crap (no pun intended...seriously, I didn't see it coming until I read it) and water flooded our poor downstairs neighbors, the Niang family.
17 year old Amadou helped us control the flooded apartment building, and quickly became a close friend, as did the rest of the Niang family. I told many stories of this family to my own friends & family back in the States and tried to convey the close friendship Kate & I had developed with the mother, Ndeye (pronounced "day"), and her 4 sons, Amadou (17), Pappi (15), Souleymane (10), and little Cire (5). The first (and only) daughter, Yacine, was born just before I had to return to the States.
We hung out with them constantly, and benefited from the fabulous cooking skills of Ndeye's househelpers. We played with the kids and grew to love each of them in a special way. Just as in America, Souleymane (or Souley, as his mother called him) seemed to almost disappear from attention as the middle child. He had a shyness about him that made you just want to shower affection on him.
In 2005, we recieved news that the father of this family passed away. Kate, Kari, Marcy, and I all hurt for this family that experienced such a great loss. Today, Kate let us know that little Souleymane passed away in an accident last week. I don't know any details, but my heart immediately felt a deep hurt over losing him. Though I haven't seen or talked to him since my visit in 2005, the Niang family, and Souleymane, are often in my thoughts. This is a very special family. Please consider praying for them when you read this blog.
Souley, Yacine, and Cire (I believe this was around 2004)
3 comments:
Peggy, This is David Taylor. I have prayed for this sweet family. Thanks for sharing. Hope you are doing well.
I have not checked my email in about a week...holy hell, I think I might throw up. What happened?
Marcy-I don't know. All Kate said was "an accident." I've replied to the facebook thread so hopefully she'll let us know if she finds out more.
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