Sunday, February 05, 2006
TRIBUTE TO MRS. MARIE YEKEH-FALLAH
By: Henry Charyoe
I have come to represent the Kissi Community in America, our forefathers, and the deeply rooted tradition they left with us in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. They taught us that, despite of the political boundaries that separated the three countries from each other, we are one people, Kissi People. Therefore, wherever we are in the world, we should unite and remain together. It is in that respect I am standing here in my capacity as President of the Kissi Community-USA to pay tribute to someone so dearly loved in our hearts. My heart and those of my kinsmen are troubled since we learned of the death of our wife, Marie, as we affectionately used to refer to her.
When the enthusiasm to organize our Kissi Community-USA under the most précised name DIOMPILLOR meaning (UNITY FOR ALL) materialized in the early 1980s, many of our people made ultimate sacrifices to cultivate that initiative. Today, we have not reached to where we want to be but have come a long way towards that goal of unity. Marie Yekeh-Fallah was one of those in the Kissi Community who volunteered her personal and family times to nurture our unity. She and her husband, Mr. Milton Fallah became the very first President and First lady of the Kissi Community-USA. She executed a positive role alongside her husband in promoting our goals of unity for what is known today as Diompillor America, Inc. She traveled with us from New Jersey to New York, New York to Rhode Island, Boston, Maryland, and the list goes on. I want to express our appreciation to you Marie, on behalf of our community even at this final stage of our togetherness with you.
Marie was loved by our community for so many reasons but two were illustrious and paramount. 1. Marie was considered a niece to the Kissi People according to the deeply rooted tradition from Lofa County. We learned from our parents that, there was a strong warrior in the Lorma Area in Lofa County in those days. He was unconquerable in has career. We are told that one day while returning home to the Lorma Area from a tribal war traveling through the Kissi Territory, he met a beautifully looking Kissi Woman both in character and appearance by the name of Kumba and immediately felt in love with her. He went to our forefathers and appealed to marry Kumba. After he met the requirements for marriage, our sister Kumba was given to him as his beloved wife. And before he left with her, our fathers blessed Kumba that she and her husband will have many children. So, all the Lorma People are considered Kumba’s children. We called them Kumba Yukos, meaning Kumba’s Children and they referred to us as their uncles. So, Marie is a niece in the Kissi Community and we have a special place for her in our hearts. 2. Marie was our brother’s wife, Mr. Milton Fallah. We loved her as a family member and in both of these conditions; Marie respected and loved us in return as her uncles and husbands. Marie, I want to thank God for the years you spent with us and we’ll surely miss you.
As I conclude, let me make these promises to you on your final journey today, something we hit to see but have no choice; We the Kissi People will carry on the unity you helped to nurture and worked so hard for to be where we are today. We will stand by those principles of unity we all put together in the 1980s and one day when complete unity shall be attained in our community, we’ll look back and say, job well done. Your name will be amongst the pioneers of unity in our history/community. On that note, I want to challenge the Kissi People again today to yield to the call of unity Marie worked so hard to promote. We may disagree on principles but should not disappear from the unity, the essence of our community. If we all work hard to develop this idea, I am sure Marie will love us for that. Furthermore, we the Kissi People will continue to love and respect Marie’s four beautiful children, our children: Tamba, Hawa, Daddy Boy, and Yorla Fallah. We will stand by our brother Milton to seek God’s blessings for their well being and pray that your death will serve as a turning point to make a positive change in their lives.
To our nephews and nieces; the Lorma People; we want to thank you for giving us back our niece Marie in marriage. We as your uncles will continue to pray for an abundant blessing upon you as our rich tradition commands us.
At this time we will deposit a wreath of love over the remains of our wife and niece, something I always find very difficult to do as a leader of my people. So, I am going to call upon few people of our community to come and stand with me in solidarity, love, and in the name of our forefathers.
The man who is regarded as the father of our community not because of his age or what he has acquired in life, but he plays the fatherly role for our community in our quest for unity. He is like a shoulder we cry upon when difficulties hit our community and he’s always there wherever we go, Mr. Henry H. Hali.
A compassionate voice of unity the Kissi People of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone are used to even in times of difficulties. He pulled our people together, both young and old listen and respect him, and a career preacher of the Word of God; Rev. Fayia A. Kabakole of ELWA, Monrovia, Liberia. Also, to join us up here are; Ma Visikinda, Ma Jenney, and Ma Satta Phillor.
On the personal note, Marie was very close to my family. According to our friendly and jokingly understanding between our two families, Marie was my small wife next to Hawa Charyoe. So, on behalf of my wife and children, I want to express our profound condolences to Mr. Milton Saah Fallah and the children.
Thank you,
H. Kendima Charyoe
President
Diompillor America, Inc.
When the enthusiasm to organize our Kissi Community-USA under the most précised name DIOMPILLOR meaning (UNITY FOR ALL) materialized in the early 1980s, many of our people made ultimate sacrifices to cultivate that initiative. Today, we have not reached to where we want to be but have come a long way towards that goal of unity. Marie Yekeh-Fallah was one of those in the Kissi Community who volunteered her personal and family times to nurture our unity. She and her husband, Mr. Milton Fallah became the very first President and First lady of the Kissi Community-USA. She executed a positive role alongside her husband in promoting our goals of unity for what is known today as Diompillor America, Inc. She traveled with us from New Jersey to New York, New York to Rhode Island, Boston, Maryland, and the list goes on. I want to express our appreciation to you Marie, on behalf of our community even at this final stage of our togetherness with you.
Marie was loved by our community for so many reasons but two were illustrious and paramount. 1. Marie was considered a niece to the Kissi People according to the deeply rooted tradition from Lofa County. We learned from our parents that, there was a strong warrior in the Lorma Area in Lofa County in those days. He was unconquerable in has career. We are told that one day while returning home to the Lorma Area from a tribal war traveling through the Kissi Territory, he met a beautifully looking Kissi Woman both in character and appearance by the name of Kumba and immediately felt in love with her. He went to our forefathers and appealed to marry Kumba. After he met the requirements for marriage, our sister Kumba was given to him as his beloved wife. And before he left with her, our fathers blessed Kumba that she and her husband will have many children. So, all the Lorma People are considered Kumba’s children. We called them Kumba Yukos, meaning Kumba’s Children and they referred to us as their uncles. So, Marie is a niece in the Kissi Community and we have a special place for her in our hearts. 2. Marie was our brother’s wife, Mr. Milton Fallah. We loved her as a family member and in both of these conditions; Marie respected and loved us in return as her uncles and husbands. Marie, I want to thank God for the years you spent with us and we’ll surely miss you.
As I conclude, let me make these promises to you on your final journey today, something we hit to see but have no choice; We the Kissi People will carry on the unity you helped to nurture and worked so hard for to be where we are today. We will stand by those principles of unity we all put together in the 1980s and one day when complete unity shall be attained in our community, we’ll look back and say, job well done. Your name will be amongst the pioneers of unity in our history/community. On that note, I want to challenge the Kissi People again today to yield to the call of unity Marie worked so hard to promote. We may disagree on principles but should not disappear from the unity, the essence of our community. If we all work hard to develop this idea, I am sure Marie will love us for that. Furthermore, we the Kissi People will continue to love and respect Marie’s four beautiful children, our children: Tamba, Hawa, Daddy Boy, and Yorla Fallah. We will stand by our brother Milton to seek God’s blessings for their well being and pray that your death will serve as a turning point to make a positive change in their lives.
To our nephews and nieces; the Lorma People; we want to thank you for giving us back our niece Marie in marriage. We as your uncles will continue to pray for an abundant blessing upon you as our rich tradition commands us.
At this time we will deposit a wreath of love over the remains of our wife and niece, something I always find very difficult to do as a leader of my people. So, I am going to call upon few people of our community to come and stand with me in solidarity, love, and in the name of our forefathers.
The man who is regarded as the father of our community not because of his age or what he has acquired in life, but he plays the fatherly role for our community in our quest for unity. He is like a shoulder we cry upon when difficulties hit our community and he’s always there wherever we go, Mr. Henry H. Hali.
A compassionate voice of unity the Kissi People of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone are used to even in times of difficulties. He pulled our people together, both young and old listen and respect him, and a career preacher of the Word of God; Rev. Fayia A. Kabakole of ELWA, Monrovia, Liberia. Also, to join us up here are; Ma Visikinda, Ma Jenney, and Ma Satta Phillor.
On the personal note, Marie was very close to my family. According to our friendly and jokingly understanding between our two families, Marie was my small wife next to Hawa Charyoe. So, on behalf of my wife and children, I want to express our profound condolences to Mr. Milton Saah Fallah and the children.
Thank you,
H. Kendima Charyoe
President
Diompillor America, Inc.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Tribute to the late Pastor Fallah Bimba
By: Daniel Solee
Horace Mann, once said that, “You should be ashamed to die unless you have achieved something for humanity.”
The late Pastor Fallah Bimba, has passed to the great beyond at an estimated age of 82. He became an ordained Pastor with the Foya Pentecostal Church in 1948. Pastor Fallah Bimba adopted several children some of whom are pastors today.
Pastor Bimba was a man of gentle understanding. He had the ability to convey the human conditions through his preaching. He cared so deeply about what it would mean to those who heard him. He did it all for them, the audience, the group of souls who somehow understood him better than he understood himself. They forgave him for everything he was afraid of in himself. And he knew it. That is what gave Pastor Fallah Bimba the power to become a household name among the Kissi people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Pastor Bimba was never abusive. Sometimes he would be in bad mood about this or that but even then, the congregations understood him because he reflected them back to themselves in a deep personal interchange that touched them both artificially, spiritually and emotionally. Pastor Bimba in all the years I knew him belonged to the congregations and the congregations belonged to him.
And now that we have lost Pastor Bimba, we have lost part of our capacity for self-reflection.
I hate to think about the days when we knew Pastor Bimba as babies in Foya Mission School. He was our father and caretaker. I admired his tenacity to control and manipulate audiences. His care and concern for the children in Foya Mission School will forever be remembered. We have certainly lost a father, grandfather and a friend.
My admiration for Pastor Bimba was absolutely unquestionable. His respect for talent was never-ending. Music apart from preaching was the real thing to him. I use to watch his eyes glint with judgement as I heard him sing and beat the drum. Pastor Bimba could almost tell you a story from the echoes of the drums. What an amazing man?
Pastor Bimba lived by faith and died in faith. Instead of immediate satisfaction to every whim, he sought satisfaction in love, honesty and hard work. Instead of the acquisition of wealth, he hoped for integrity, mutual trust and contentment in family life. He made us to believe that the theology of power was based in love and service.
Thank you Pastor Bimba for the life you lived. May your soul rest in perfect peace and light perpetual shine on you.
The late Pastor Fallah Bimba, has passed to the great beyond at an estimated age of 82. He became an ordained Pastor with the Foya Pentecostal Church in 1948. Pastor Fallah Bimba adopted several children some of whom are pastors today.
Pastor Bimba was a man of gentle understanding. He had the ability to convey the human conditions through his preaching. He cared so deeply about what it would mean to those who heard him. He did it all for them, the audience, the group of souls who somehow understood him better than he understood himself. They forgave him for everything he was afraid of in himself. And he knew it. That is what gave Pastor Fallah Bimba the power to become a household name among the Kissi people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Pastor Bimba was never abusive. Sometimes he would be in bad mood about this or that but even then, the congregations understood him because he reflected them back to themselves in a deep personal interchange that touched them both artificially, spiritually and emotionally. Pastor Bimba in all the years I knew him belonged to the congregations and the congregations belonged to him.
And now that we have lost Pastor Bimba, we have lost part of our capacity for self-reflection.
I hate to think about the days when we knew Pastor Bimba as babies in Foya Mission School. He was our father and caretaker. I admired his tenacity to control and manipulate audiences. His care and concern for the children in Foya Mission School will forever be remembered. We have certainly lost a father, grandfather and a friend.
My admiration for Pastor Bimba was absolutely unquestionable. His respect for talent was never-ending. Music apart from preaching was the real thing to him. I use to watch his eyes glint with judgement as I heard him sing and beat the drum. Pastor Bimba could almost tell you a story from the echoes of the drums. What an amazing man?
Pastor Bimba lived by faith and died in faith. Instead of immediate satisfaction to every whim, he sought satisfaction in love, honesty and hard work. Instead of the acquisition of wealth, he hoped for integrity, mutual trust and contentment in family life. He made us to believe that the theology of power was based in love and service.
Thank you Pastor Bimba for the life you lived. May your soul rest in perfect peace and light perpetual shine on you.
