By Sahr Ibrahim Komba
One year after the death of their husband, Kumba Dauda and Bondu Dauda still wake before dawn, not to mourn, but to work. In the underserved farming village of Kangbor, widowhood has not brought rest or relief. Instead, it has thrust them into roles traditionally reserved for men, farm managers, labour supervisors, and sole providers for five children whose future now rests entirely in their hands.
Their late husband, Aiah Dauda, was a teacher, a cocoa produce dealer, a businessman, and a farmer, a man whose multiple livelihoods sustained his household and earned him respect within and beyond his community. His sudden death in 2024 did not only end a life; it disrupted an entire family system built on hard work and vision.
For Kumba and Bondu, the first months after Aiah’s death were marked by grief and uncertainty. Living in Kangbor, a remote and underserved village with limited access to schools and health facilities, the widows were forced to make painful decisions for survival.
To safeguard their children’s future, their mother-in-law relocated with the five children to Koidu Town in Kono District, where schools and basic services are more accessible. While the children attend school and receive care under their grandmother’s supervision, Kumba and Bondu remain in Kangbor to manage the farms and sustain the family’s income.
“It broke our hearts to stay away from our children,” Kumba Dauda says, “but without the farm, there would be no school fees.”
After their husband died,responsibilities that once rested on his shoulders became theirs. Cocoa farming, bush clearing, spraying, harvesting, transporting produce, and negotiating sales tasks dominated by men now define their daily lives.
Bondu Dauda recalls the early days.”People doubted us. Some said the farms would collapse. But hunger and responsibility gave us strength.”
Today, the widows oversee cocoa farms, rice fields, and other food crops. During peak seasons, they employ labourers; in difficult times, they work the land themselves.
Among the most painful reminders of their loss is an unfinished house project Aiah Dauda had begun planning before his death, a home he hoped would secure his family’s future. Death interrupted that dream.
Through the support of the late man’s brothers,extended family and income from farming, Kumba and Bondu have managed to begin construction of the house, brick by brick. Yet the project remains incomplete, a symbol of both resilience and unfinished business.
“When we see the building, we remember him,” Bondu says softly. “We also remember that we must continue.”
Though separated by distance, the widows remain fully responsible for their children’s welfare. Income from cocoa sales is carefully divided to cover school fees, uniforms, feeding, and medical bills in Koidu Town.
“When a child falls sick, we feel it here in Kangbor,” Bondu explains. “Even if it is planting season, we must find money for medicine.”
The sacrifice is heavy: months without seeing their children, long days in the fields, and nights filled with worry.
In many rural communities, widows lose control of land and property after their husband’s death. In Kangbor, however, Kumba and Bondu have remained custodians of Aiah Dauda’s cocoa farms, homes, and agricultural enterprises, protecting his legacy through determination and hard work.
Community leaders who once doubted them now speak with respect.“They are doing the work of men,” one elder acknowledged, “and they are doing it well.”
Their experience mirrors the struggles of countless widows in rural Sierra Leone women who face cultural barriers, economic exclusion, and limited access to credit and extension services. Gender advocates say their story highlights the urgent need for policies that protect widows’ inheritance rights and support women farmers.
Despite exhaustion and uncertainty, Kumba and Bondu remain hopeful. They dream of completing the house their husband started, expanding their cocoa farm, and seeing all five children complete their education.
“We are tired,” Kumba says quietly, “but our children must not suffer because their father is gone.”
One year after loss reshaped their lives, Kumba Dauda and Bondu Dauda stand not only as widows, but as providers, builders, and guardians of a future their husband envisioned but could not finish.
From the fields of Kangbor to the classrooms of Koidu Town, their story is a powerful reminder that resilience does not end with death, it grows, nurtured by courage, sacrifice, and hope.
#FarmingThroughGrieftoSecureaFuture
