In western Kenya, something unusual is happening. People are now getting paid to cry at funerals.
Victor Ouma is one of them. He lives in the Kisumu region, and his job is simple: he attends the burials of people he has never met. He wails, he helps set up tents, he serves food, and he offers emotional support to grieving families. For all of this, he gets paid.
Victor is what locals now call a professional mourner.
So why would anyone hire a stranger to cry?
Part of it is loneliness. Cities are growing fast, and many people have moved away from their villages. When someone dies, there are simply not enough relatives around to show up. The old, large families that once gathered for funerals have become smaller. People feel the absence.
But there is another reason — and it is about respect.
In the Luo community, where Victor works, a big funeral with many people crying and wailing is a sign of honor. Families believe that if the dead person does not get a proper send-off with lots of mourners, their spirit may stay behind and cause trouble for the living.
That is where Victor and others like him come in.
Before each funeral, the paid mourners are given a short lesson about the dead person’s life. They learn their name, what they did for work, and who they left behind. Then, when the time comes, Victor imagines it is his own mother or father lying there. And the tears come.
