It’s a sad day for us

We woke up today to the very sad news of the passing on of our Aunty Monica Mghoi Mwamburi. As a younger sister to my late mother-in-law, she was a mother-in-law just like my husband’s mother would have been. That is how it is among us Taitas.

Ambango Me Eric, Ambango Monica, as I would fondly call her was one of those women, I recall, who came to visit me when I was newly married and had gone home kwa weni kapanga for the first time. That meant a lot to me since my own mother-in-law had long passed on. I had had no mother figure to welcome me to the home! I did not have anyone to introduce me to my mother in law’s kitchen, no one to show me the pots that were used in that kitchen or how to set the cooking stones right.

You know in our mum’s kitchens (and even in my own I think) there is that pot that is reserved for making tea. Normally it would be the lightest and there is the one that prepares vegetables and then the one for ugali. In our traditional homesteads that use three stones fireplace the pot used to prepare ugali would normally have developed a conical shape at the bottom thanks to continuously being pushed with the cooking stick (mwiko) as you mixed and mashed the mealie mash (kurugha mswara) then of course there would invariably be that hardy pot that could withstand long hours of cooking the traditional dishes such as pure and kimanga.

Each of these pots would also have a way they would be set on the firestones. For this purpose, there would normally be a few smaller stones beside the three bigger stones that would be used to adjust the gap where the pot sat so that it would fit right. You need a mum to induct you into these realities however well read you might be. I had to figure these out by myself and secretly it made me mourn the mother-in-law, Wandoe, that I never had a chance to meet.

Ambango Me Eric in her generosity with time and having come to see me on that first instance as a new addition to her late sister’s homestead, and in her subsequent visits to my home, became a constant reminder of the love and place of a mother-in-law. She brought into sharp focus in my mind and heart the importance of loving those that God brings into our lives; blood relative, friends, colleagues, inlaws … Her first visit and the emotions it evoked made me resolve to receive with love what I consider gifts to be unpacked and relished in christian love. In this way she also made me recognise that in the ordinary and sometimes overlooked, we evangelize and preach the gospel of love.

I came to learn in time that they were great partners with my husband, they would collaborate with her young nephew then in their agribusiness ventures. These ventures were not called agribusinesses at the time but that is what they were. Sharing tomato, sukuma wiki (kale) and cabbage seedlings. Educating each other about new hacks they’d picked up or learned on how to cultivate a successful crop. Collaborating in vibarua (casual labour). in this way she led and helped her nephew raise funds to augment his pocket money. In this manner helping sow seeds of humble beginnings of a lifelong entrepreneurial journey.

Ambango me Herbert, I thank you! Although you have left us so abruptly without any goodbyes, your warm smile and love will remain in our hearts, and we celebrate your wonderful life. May God welcome your warm loving soul to eternal rest. Go well Ambango, mao!