May 09 2007
Augustin the Congo Ranger weds Josephine
Last week I introduced you to Augustin Kambale, head of the patrol post in Bukima. He would like to tell you about his wedding to Josephine, on 31st March 2007. Here is Augustin:
Hello. On 31st March 2007 I married Josephine. We got married in the church in 1990, but we had not yet done the civil ceremony. We did this in the place we live, a town called Kiwanja in the Rutshuru area. Kiwanja has about 40,000 inhabitants. Josephine and I already have three sons, Samuel, Mechac and Enoch. It costs a lot of money to get married in the civil way, about $200, so this is why we have waited for so long.
Here we are at the beginning of the service, that lasted 3 hours in total.
Josephine and I both read the contract of marriage. Here in Africa we get married until death. We do not believe in divorce.
We also swear to our marriage with the flag of our country.
And at the end we sign the contract of marriage. We had all our family with us. You can see them sitting behind us.
Afterwards we left to celebrate and eat.
The food was prepared by my wife and her family and neighbors. They spent all day the day before the wedding doing this. We ate beans, beef, chips, rice, Fanta, sombe (a Congolese vegetable) and cassava foufou, another Congolese staple.
Women eat separately to men on these occasions.
But we all enjoyed a soft drink or Primus, the local beer.
And here are two of my sons, Enoch who is 2 and Mechac who is 4. They had a good day.
I am happy to share this with you and I am happy you enjoyed the video. I will be doing more soon for this blog. I cannot believe so many people have watched my video on YouTube. This is all very new to me and I find it fascinating. Thank you.
Augustin
Technorati : bukima, congo, drc, gorilla, virunga, wildlifedirect
Daily news from the conservation frontline by Innocent and Diddy, and other Congolese rangers risking their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Hi Augustin,
Congratulations to you and your beautiful wife! Thank you for showing us pictures and glimpses into your family life and celebrations.
You all are so attractive and regal looking, and I love the traditional dresses that the women are wearing.
This entire blogging project is wonderful and useful. The word is spreading, I’m in New Jersey (near New York City) and I heard about it through a link from a Yahoo! news article.
Keep it up, there are people watching and cheering you on!
Faye
Congratulations…Beautiful kids you have. Your wife must worry alot for you. Stay safe always for your family. Stephanie….
Congradulations and a beautiful life ahead for you and your family — you all look so beautiful — much happiness for you — Wanda in Georgia U.S.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story. Best wishes to the newlyweds. Rick LoBello, El Paso, Texas
I say thank you for your congratulations. I wish that you do or help me in my job and also my family. Thank you again. Augustin at Bukima.
Augustin,
Congratulations to you and your beautiful wife! You have a lovely family. I adore the women’s clothing. Love those bright colors!
Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us. It is interesting and facinating to learn about other cultures.
God bless you and your family!
Mary
[…] Their blogs have been providing regular stories and voices from the deepest part of Africa for a global audience. There are stories of a rare sighting of 10 elephants and rumors of rebels seen in the area, birth of a baby Gorilla, Chimpanzees rescued from illegal trafficking, warning signs from a rebel group, and updates about their social life. […]
Augustin - You have a beautiful wife and family! I have been reading this blog for a while and am quite interested in it not only for the updates about the gorillas and ranger actions, but also for the stories about your guys’ lives. :o) Best of luck to you all!
Congratulations to you and stephanie…God’S many blessings be apon you and your family, his protection be with you and your colleagues in your work. I found your story interesting because it gaved me an a peek into a little of your culture, I am about to marry a geologist from your country. I am from South America (Guyana).