Two teenagers whose parents died mysteriously at Abuakwa-Maakro in the Ashanti Region say they are starting life afresh.
Though the death of their parents remains fresh in their minds, the brothers say they are starting life all over with their new-found family.
The Police rescued the boys in an unconscious state and retrieved the decomposing bodies of their parents in the family’s locked apartment.
The discovery of the bodies of the couple in their apartment at Abuakwa Maakro shocked residents of Kumasi.
Samuel and Ernestina Jackson and their children relocated to Ghana from the Netherlands without the knowledge of their extended families.
It took an observant landlady of happenings in their Abuakwa-Maakro Plot 10 home to alert Police about the fact that the couple has not been seen in public for a while.
Their surviving children, rescued in an unconscious state by Police, spent several weeks at the Abuakwa Government Hospital.
Jake and Jesse Jackson, aged 13 and 11 respectively, have since reunited with their mother’s family at Anwomaso in Kumasi after spending weeks recuperating at the Abuakwa Government Hospital.
Life after the demise of their parents has been tough for the teenagers, who have since been staying with their grandmother.
“They ask about their parents. They ask about what happened to their parents,” an aunt, Annette Adwoa Boakye told JoyNews.
Police found the body of 40-year-old Ernestina Jackson covered in a blanket with ice packs on it.
Though her children have since been informed of her death, they are yet to come to terms with it.
“When he saw the mum’s poster, he shouted, this is my mum!!!. But all of a sudden, he went inside his room and started to cry. All along, he didn’t sleep. He cried and cried, and cried. I asked him why he was crying but he said he missed the family,” another Aunt, Adwoa Boakye revealed how the elderly child, Jake reacted upon seeing her mum’s funeral poster.
Our parents are in Heaven; we too want to go there
Their grandmother, Lydia Boakye Benson says memories of their dead parents continue to plague their minds daily.
She was with the teenagers while they were on admission at the Abuakwa Hospital.
She recounts the nightmarish experiences she has endured with the kids who demand to join their dead parents wherever they may be.
Not even her constant advice to her grandchildren could make them change their minds.
“They won’t eat. They want to join their mother and father in heaven. That’s what they always say,” she said.
“Our parents are in heaven so we too we want to go there,” she added.
Meanwhile, the final funeral rite of Mrs Jackson will be held on Saturday, October 15 2022, at Anwomaso in Kumasi.
New home, new family
But despite these challenges, the children say they have had to start life afresh with a new-found family.
They have been introduced to a home that has a blend of children of their age group and adults who understand their predicament.
“I feel like a family; like a family together,” 13-year-old Jake Jackson told JoyNews in the presence of her grandmum and other relatives.
“I feel like a new family together; I’ve started a new life. That’s what I feel. Yes! It feels good,” he added.