Daring Mother Who Works with Dead Bodies Recounts Rough Journey to Becoming a Mortician

• Philinda, a Kenyan mortician, has opened up about her work as a female mortician and the stigma from society
• In an interview, she recounted the difficult path into the profession because her family rejected the idea
• After years of working with dead bodies, the mother of one has embraced her field despite the discrimination

A Kenyan female mortician, Philinda, has opened up about her profession and the challenges she encountered on her journey to become a qualified mortuary worker.

The audacious mom received training at the University of Nairobi before officially beginning the work.

Speaking to Ghanaian DJ Nyaami of SVTV African, Philinda disclosed that her family disapproved of her decision to become a mortician when she first told them.

Philinda recounts her harsh journey to becoming a mortician

She recounted that she originally wanted to become a nurse, but her mother could not afford to pay for her training due to financial constraints.

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Philinda said a Catholic priest would later introduce her to his cousin, a mortuary worker. Inspired by the cousin of the priest, she enrolled to study a mortuary Science course at the university to acquire professional training in the field after her mom refused to pay the fees.

In March 2015, she began training at the school, where she recalled an experience that nearly made her abandon the decision to work on the dead.

''The person in charge [at the training school] told me to go and do some visitation ... the cabinet was higher, and so when we were pulling the body, the troll fell and broke, and the dead body fell on me. I jumped through the window.

''From that day, I said I am not going to work in a mortuary where people can wake up and beat you,'' she recalled.

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Philinda faces rejection and discrimination

When asked what her mom and other three siblings said when she told them about the decision to work in a mortuary, Philinda said they rejected the idea.

''She [mom] was scared. She told me to sit down and think of my life if I'm ready to use [something]. I said let me be somewhere in the moment and think about it.

''I went and told her I was ready to do that course, but she said she wouldn't pay anything,'' she recalled.

Philinda narrated that the Catholic priest helped to raise funds for her studies. Since finishing the course, she has been working as a mortician for nine years.

Philinda embraces her profesion

She admits that being a female mortician is challenging because of the social stigma. Her ex-husband once accused her of sleeping with dead people, she said.

''My sister said she cannot be associated with someone who works with dead bodies. She said you cannot cook for us,'' she recalled.

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After years of working as a mortician, Philinda embraced her work. ''At first, I didn't want people to know I work in the mortuary. It was only [in 2022 that I made it public that] I work in a mortuary.''

Watch her full interview below:

Ghanaian family arrive at mortuary to learn their corpse is missing

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that the family of Linda Oburi Akufo, a woman who died and was kept in a mortuary at the Assin-Fosu St Francis Xavier Hospital, was spotted throwing tantrums in a viral video.

Source: YEN.com.gh