UPDATE: A champion, a sweetheart and a little boy with the world’s best smile were laid to rest at Werribee last Saturday.
Hundreds gathered to sing, pray and grieve for the three children who died when their mother’s car plunged into a lake at Wyndham Vale on April 8.
Mourners packed St Andrew’s Church for the funerals of one-year-old Bol and four-year-old twins Anger and Madit. They included the children’s mother, Akon Guode, who arrived surrounded by family.
She sat in the church’s front pew, the children’s father Joseph Tito Manyang at her side, looking over three small coffins.
Between them was Awel, their five-year-old daughter who survived the Lake Gladman tragedy.
Makok Kuol delivered eulogies for his cousins, who he called “three beautiful angels”.
He said the world had lost a champion in Madit, who he was certain would have one day worn an Olympic gold medal.
“Every time you would open the door this young energetic boy would run into your arms,” he said.
“A young, energetic Australian has been ripped from us.
“Madit is still a champion, he is still running. God has given him his medal.”
He remembered Anger as a “sweetheart” with a “wonderful soul”.
“Anger, now you are in heaven. You will welcome us one day,” Mr Kuol said.
He said the youngest of the three children, Bol, was a boy whose life had been too short, who would always be remembered for “the best smile, the laughter, and the joy he brought to all of us”.
The church’s parish priest, Father Frank Buhagiar, thanked the many new friends who had stood with the family since the tragic event.
“Let us weep with those who are weeping,” he said as the 200-or-so mourners prepared to follow the hearses to Werribee cemetery.
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