Kinshasa March 2023: Report by Ernie Ross on the funeral of Université Protestante au Congo's Rector Daniel Ngoy

The service took place in three stages: Bringing the body from the morgue to the church, the service and the interment. I was told that the cathedral can hold up to 7,500 people. My guess is that there were over 3,000 for the service. The activities at the morgue started at 9 am. The internment ended around 4 pm with no breaks to speak of. It was a very long day but also rewarding.

They didn't tell me when I was to be called on to speak so I was busy watching other activities before realizing that they were calling on me. Then the translator (from Lonkundo to French) didn't show up, so they had to find someone. In the end, all went well.

More people than I can count told me how much they appreciated Education Congo sending someone. They took such great care of me. I would have no idea of what was next, only to find someone there to guide me. So, that is it for now…

Short video clip of Ernie speaking at Daniel Ngoy's funeral

When Ernie starts speaking in Lonkundo, the crowd responds with a roar of warm applause!