Lessons I have learned from others #2

On Friday, November 27th, Fati Madougou, the wife of the former Mayor of Libore, Amadou Madougou, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.  I met Fati in Niger in 2007, when I went for my first visit in May of that year.  She couldn’t speak a word of English and I could barely say anything in French.  But that is when our special friendship was forged.

And in my subsequent 7 visits to Niger over the last 13 years, we met each time in her home or my hotel.  Each time our bond grew stronger, but never through language, never through the spoken word.  We would sit looking at each other, clasping hands, hugging and baring our hearts and souls without uttering a word. I could always feel the love in her heart and sense the compassion in her soul.  She was a poet, a teacher, a mother and grandmother.  She was a woman of great strength and character.  Her son, Mamoud, told me that in her final day, knowing that she was dying, she told the family everything she wanted to say, and seemed at peace with her world.  She died on a Friday, a holy day.

Fati had that special something that is so rare in this world – a light that shone brightly from her eyes and reflected the wisdom deep in her soul.

By the last time I saw her, I no longer worried about finding words, I was content to just “sit” in her presence and soak up her warmth.

She taught me, by example, that true love needs no expression in words, it simply “is”.

I will forever miss you Fati.  You have left a mark on all the lives you have touched – and in this soul who lives across the ocean in Canada.