Dr. Osei Assibey-Bonsu's Ashanti Send Off

Hello, my name is Kyra, and as of 2:11 pm on October 18, 2022, I'm down one parent. My father passed on to his ancestors peacefully, despite leaving behind a hole in the hearts of his family and friends. Something I have learned is that when you lose a parent, a few things come into perspective for you. First and foremost, you want to honor your parent in the best way possible. Another is to give my Dad what he wanted, which was for our family in Ghana to have a chance to celebrate his life. One way that I know I can do both of those things is to ensure that my Dad's family in Ghana is taken care of in the future.

Now, he didn't want a traditional Ashanti funeral because that would pressure his family to provide a costly celebration. However, he did want his family to be together. My Dad's family in Ghana has had their fair share of financial struggles, and since local funeral preparations would rely heavily on them, I want to find a way to support them however possible.

Every year for as long as I remember, we sent money to his family in Ghana to help with school fees, clothing, housing, and whatever else they needed. My father was a generous person, and I know that his one concern was that they would not receive what they needed to survive.

Traditionally, in Ashanti culture, the deceased's family pays for the often extravagant and costly funeral to ensure that their loved one has an epic sendoff of peace. But since my Dad did not want to take any more than what his family could provide, he said that when he passed away, all he wanted was for his family to come together and for a modest funeral in his honor. So we are doing just that while leaving them with whatever is left over.

I ask you to imagine a world with only one parent, and what would you do to honor them? We appreciate anything that you decide to donate because all of it will go far in Ghana.

Peace and Love,

Kyra Assibey-Bonsu