In 2018, my teenage son told me he couldn’t remember his grandfather.
My dad died in 2003, when my son was only four years old. Over
a
decade later, my son had questions about his grandfather—he
wanted
to know what Grandpa Ben was like. I wanted him to know that,
too.
To preserve my father’s legacy, I decided to create a memorial website for his posterity. During the process, dozens of my friends expressed the same desire: to preserve their memories of lost loved ones for future generations. So I expanded my personal website into a public memorial website.
Thus, SafiriSalama.com was born in August 2018. It was an idea whose time had come.
Old-style newspaper obituaries were ineffective when it came to sharing time-sensitive information promptly. Also, after funeral services have ended, the lack of a digital footprint forced most families to divide ownership of the deceased’s mementos, which made it difficult to share and preserve them. Where do those precious pictures and stories go?
Then the COVID-19 crisis came along, which changed the very nature how we say good-bye. We’re used to gathering together to grieve and comfort one another; what happens when we can’t do that?
SafiriSalama.com provides a healing alternative by offering a simple way to announce a death, plan a funeral, grieve, celebrate, and remember a life in a way that is distant but not isolated.
Every SafiriSalama.com tribute memorial page displays the deceased’s profile picture, while the About page lists important information about that person, their family, and their life milestones. You can post up-to-date information on the Noticeboard regarding funeral arrangements, and a tasteful Gallery showcases photos and videos. The Tribute section is where friends and relatives can Tell a Story, Lay a virtual flower, or Light a virtual candle.
You can also customize your page background or add meaningful music.
We understand the stress and urgency associated with funeral planning. With expanded offerings and a multitude of vendors, who do you trust to deliver professional, compassionate services? Finding the right people requires hours of research, at a time when your mind and heart are elsewhere.
For that reason, we developed a user-friendly, online funeral services directory. The Red Book helps you search for absolutely any service you might need. We thought of everything, so that you don’t have to. Our mission was twofold: create a reliable platform for finding high-quality, trustworthy funeral/grief service providers, and vet them thoroughly to confirm their credibility.
My hope is that SafiriSalama.com will ease families’ pain as they lay their dear ones to rest.
Additionally, we hope it will help family members and future generations remember and learn about their ancestors through pictures, videos, tributes, and stories shared by those who knew and loved them.
To mark the shape of what is lost, “we do that by saying goodbye, together.”
John Nyongesa
Founder
“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” - George Eliot
