Sharing Sad News
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched countless lives, organizations and communities around the world and recent waves have sparked increased worries about our Living Water family around the world. Sadly, we have to share the devastating news that the impact of COVID recently hit home when we learned that that we lost friends of the organization to the pandemic.
An Update from Living Water Children's Fund
We are writing in tribute to David and Gladys Zarembka and to share the tragic news of their recent deaths in Eldoret, Kenya. The Zarembka’s had a connection to Living Water Children’s Fund, as they lived and worked in Kenya, providing a vital bridge to navigating the educational system, and providing a window to understanding Kenyan society and culture through Dave’s weekly blog and newsletters.
In addition, Dave connected LWCF to a number of sponsors for our DSCC secondary school educational sponsorship, illustrating how the actions of one individual can have a ripple effect and impact many lives. We will miss Dave’s presence and are grateful for his impact on our programs in Kenya while he was still alive.
One of the LWCF sponsors that Dave connected us to is George Cummins who shared these words about Dave’s life:
Dave Zarembka was a T12 Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania with us many years ago. He was living in Western Kenya, working for a Friends Church organization that promotes conflict resolution in the countries around Lake Victoria (Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya with spill over into Sudan and Somalia) and writing a frequent “Report from Kenya” on a wide range of topics . Last week I shared that his wife, Grace Kamonya had died of COVID and that David was hospitalized in critical condition. I received word tonight…that David had died…
In the Beatitudes of St Mathew it is written, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” We believe this to be true. May he rest in Peace.
George C.
This news comes along with increased worry about the children, program sites, schools and friends of Living Water when it comes to the pandemic.
As one of our sponsors, Margaret K., recently wrote, “Covid is a long-bladed scythe, especially in unvaccinated populations. And the first to be taken are the elders, the leaders, the ones who show us what is possible. It’s hard to believe that we will never welcome Dave and Gladys back to our Meetings, and will never visit them in Kenya.”
We express our sincere condolences to the family on the loss of Gladys and David and are deeply saddened by their passing. We continue to hope for and work to support the health and safety of the Living Water children, team members, supporters and family around the world.