It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of our friend and colleague, Abdallah Nguyu. Below, Geoff O’Donoghue, Trustee of RLT pays tribute to Abdallah.
I first met Abdallah more than 30 years ago when my wife, Jenny and I were new arrivals in Kindwitwi and Abdallah was a new employee of the Leprosy Care Centre in his early twenties. He was, as he proved all his life, a quiet, observant and warm-hearted man. Abdallah didn’t often speak in meetings but when he did his input was insightful and essential listening. I got used to the fact that an informal chat with Abdallah about any issue in the village would always be informative and a sure source of wisdom about what was happening, what might be needed and what was realistic to be done.
As the child of leprosy patients, Abdallah was one of the early cohort from Kindwitwi to be sponsored by RLT through Secondary education in nearby Utete. He also led the way as one of the first residents of Kindwitwi to be employed by the Care Centre – a strategy that the Care Centre and the Trust pursued across the life of the project until, eventually, the whole staff group was drawn from residents of the village. Starting as the Admin Officer under Burchard Rwamtoga (the then Head of Finance and Admin and subsequent Centre Manager) Abdallah learned to manage all aspects of the Care Centre, eventually becoming Centre Manager himself.
Alongside his work in the Care Centre Abdallah, like everyone else, had a farm plot and kept chickens to support his family. His entrepreneurial spirit was reflected in his early adoption of sesame as a cash crop in collaboration with Burchard. A deep-seated culture of fatalism – nurtured by the stigmatizing cultural and historical experience of leprosy – combined with an aversion to standing out for fear of attracting the curses of others had served to stifle development across the village. By leading the way in challenging these norms Abdallah was catalytic in enabling others to do the same. A brave man in the context of a strong tradition of witchcraft targeted at those who broke the norms.
Abdallah died at the early age of 55 from a combination of diabetes and a long-standing heart condition. He left two wives and families behind in the village and a whole community that will miss his unique presence. He was a quiet, generous man with a big heart. I was glad to have worked alongside him over the years and to have counted him as a friend.