Dead Zim man to be finally repatriated to Zim following cash donation

DIASPORA Funeral Cash Plan, a funeral insurance underwritten by Zimnat Life, has donated US$1,600 towards a fund set up to repatriate the body of Cadwell Mashininga from a London mortuary to Zimbabwe for burial.

Mashininga died on April 27 at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, and his body has been stranded at London funeral parlour, CJ Reilly Funeral Services, for over a month. His family and friends have in the past fortnight made desperate public appeals for help to raise the £2,500 needed to cover repatriation costs.

Mashininga, who told friends in the days before his death of his wish to travel to Zimbabwe and recuperate there, will now be finally buried in his homeland after Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan chipped in with a generous US$1,600 (£1,000) cash donation. CJ Reilly Funeral Services, who are Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan's Accredited Funeral Directors in the UK, also weighed in by reducing their total body repatriation bill by £150.

Confirming receipt of the donation this week, family spokesperson Mr Moses Nhamburo, who has been co-ordinating donations, said: "Finally, my friend's wish to be laid to rest in his beloved motherland Zimbabwe can be realised, thanks to Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan who have done us proud by donating a generous US$1,600. The cash donation was paid directly to the funeral parlour, CJ Reilly, who have confirmed receipt of the payment."



Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan spokesman Roda Williams said, "Diaspora death is a longstanding social challenge that has haunted families and migrant communities. The innovative Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan cover is a simple solution that pays out cash of up to US$20, 000 immediately on proof of death which guarantees everyone covered a dignified and honourable send-off. With this solution, never again shall families have to endure the traumatic pain of bereavement and begging for public help'.

The Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan was launched in 2012 and has grown strength to strength as more and more people continue to realise the need for protection. The cover is available to every Zimbabwean worldwide including those in Zimbabwe. With no medicals on application nor on claim the cash plan guarantees immediate cash pay-out into any bank worldwide. "As Diaspora Funeral Cash Plan, we will always do our part to support the community and continue to urge people to get covered", added Williams.

Mashininga, who served as a policeman in Zimbabwe from 1987 until his move to the UK in 2001, is survived by his London-based wife and four children who are all in Zimbabwe. He was 44. Well-wishers have been making donations to help Mashininga's family and friends give him a dignified send-off after a deeply emotional appeal was circulated on social media networks and on the instant messaging service Whatsapp.

 "I appeal to you my brothers and sisters to put our heads together and help. I know it's not that easy to help someone whom you don't know but let's do it for the Mother out there in Zimbabwe whose heart is bleeding for her deceased son and the son is not yet buried a month after his death. Moreover, the body is still in a foreign land; just imagine what she is going through," the message read.

The family has been publishing mini statements of their Lloyds TSB Bank account every day to update well-wishers on their fundraising efforts. Expressing his gratitude to those who responded to the appeal, Nhamburo said, "I am greatly humbled by the generosity and togetherness of the Zimbabwean community. I never knew that Zimbabweans were such a strong and supportive community."

Diaspora death has caused much suffering to many bereaved families in Zimbabwe who, because of lack of resources to repatriate their loved ones back home for burial, are robbed of the opportunity to experience closure. One high profile case that highlighted this painful experience is that of the late popular musician, Fortune Mparutsa, whose body was stranded in the UK for over nine months in 2009 as his family and friends struggled to raise funds for repatriation.

In 2011, friends of the slain Zimbabwean university professor, Ottilia Chareka, set up a fund to raise US$20,000 for the repatriation of her body from Canada to Zimbabwe.

For further information on Mashininga's body repatriation and funeral arrangements, contact Mr Moses Nhambuko on +44 7863 699966 or Mr Walter Zaranyika on +44 7946 827802.