Kisumu Family Appeals for Sh1.8 Million to Repatriate Body of Kin Who Died in Lebanon

A family in Kisumu County is appealing for financial support from the government and well-wishers to help them raise Sh1.8 million required to repatriate the body of their relative, Christina Brandy, who died in Lebanon after a prolonged illness.

Christina’s sister, Caroline Adhiambo Obuya, said the family has been overwhelmed by the cost of bringing her remains back to Kenya, following her death on Tuesday last week at a hospital in Beirut.

Speaking at their home in Kamrongo Village, Kisumu East Sub-County, Obuya described the late Christina as the family’s sole breadwinner, saying her passing has left them financially and emotionally devastated.

“We are completely overwhelmed. We have no means of raising the money required to bring her body back home,” she said.

According to the family, Christina travelled to Lebanon in 2016 in search of better economic opportunities after struggling to support her relatives back home. She previously worked as a domestic worker in Nairobi before relocating abroad.

“She had taken full responsibility for the family after losing both our parents—our mother in 1993 and our father in 2005. She even supported her 18-year-old daughter’s education,” Obuya said.

While in Lebanon, Christina reportedly fell ill and underwent heart surgery, but her condition worsened over time, leading to complications including swelling of the legs and kidney failure last year.

“She became too weak to work and depended on friends for survival,” her sister added.

Despite receiving medical support, including assistance from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the family says Christina eventually succumbed to her illness at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut.

Her 18-year-old daughter, Santada Chenogol, said the family is struggling to cope with the loss, noting that her mother had been their only source of livelihood.

“My mother was everything to us. She struggled so much to provide, and now we don’t even have the means to bring her back home,” she said.

The family has written to the State Department for Diaspora Affairs seeking urgent government intervention to facilitate the repatriation of the body for burial in Kenya.

They also revealed that due to financial constraints, they may be forced to consider cremation and shipment of ashes, an option they say contradicts their wishes.

“We want to give our sister a dignified burial at home, but we are being pushed to the wall,” Obuya said.

A cousin of the deceased, Barrack Ochieng, has also appealed to both national and county governments, as well as well-wishers, to assist the grieving family.

The situation has been worsened by instability in Lebanon, which the family says has made coordination for assistance more difficult.

Members of the public wishing to assist the family can channel their support through Caroline Adhiambo Obuya on 0721949291.