A mother was able to leave the hospital Saturday in order to attend her two daughters’ funeral.
Elizabeth Muzaliwa, 18, and Rahema Muzaliwa, 16, died when their car collided with a dump truck on Mitch Owens at Manotick Station Road on December 9th. Their mother, Bernadette Muzaliwa, was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Elizabeth’s and Rahema’s funeral was held at the Bibleway Ministries in Nepean Saturday.
It was standing room only as more than 300 people came to say good-bye to the two sisters.
Among them, was the girls’ mother Bernadette who has been unable to leave hospital since the crash. With help of a wheelchair and a body brace, Bernadette joined her husband Kayamba Muzaliwa, and their son David to attend the funeral.
“I’m doing very well by God’s grace. I’m standing here surrounded by God,” Bernadette says. She wants people to “remember they are smart girls, intelligent, and friendly with everybody. Kayamba called his wife’s strength, “a testimony to God.”
The funeral included traditional Congolese song and dance. Kayamba Muzaliwa delivered the eulogy. He says he wanted the funeral to take place at Bibleway Ministries, where the family attended since they arrived to Canada from the Congo. “They were born in this church, baptised in this church, and served in this church,” he says. “I hoped that their bodies would be brought here for the last time for them to say goodbye to their home, because this is their home.”
A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up to help support the family as they deal with their grief.
