Four coffins, one family: a mother and her three young children were laid to rest together on Friday, victims of the MV Barima disaster that has plunged a Bush Lot Village community into mourning.
Rachel Wells, 30, and her children — 8-year-old Nathaniel Jnr Matabheek, 6-year-old Natalia Matabheek, and 3-year-old Ezekiel Matabheek — died when the vessel sank on 18 July 2026, cutting short what was meant to be Rachel’s first homecoming to Port Kaituma in nine years.
A funeral service was held at the family’s home at Lot 107, Section A, Bush Lot Village, West Coast Berbice, where hundreds turned out to support the grieving relatives as the mother and her children were laid to rest.
The atmosphere was one of overwhelming grief as the hearses arrived at the residence. One by one, the caskets were carried into the yard, beginning with Rachel’s, followed by those of her three young children.
The emotional procession reduced many in attendance to tears as relatives embraced each other in sorrow.
Rachel’s husband, Nathaniel Matabheek, who survived the maritime tragedy, broke down in tears beside the caskets.
“Rachel, if you listened to me that wouldn’t have happened,” he said in tears. “Me tell you, God told me not to go, but you still forced to go.”
The children’s grandmother, Bibi Shamina Matabheek, was inconsolable as the tiny caskets were brought into the yard, while Rachel’s parents and other relatives, who travelled from Port Kaituma for the funeral, wept openly as they prepared to say their final goodbye.
The heartbreaking sight of four caskets belonging to one immediate family left many residents visibly shaken. Those gathered watched in silence as loved ones mourned not just one life, but an entire young family lost in a single tragedy.
Rachel and her children had been travelling with Nathaniel to visit her mother in Port Kaituma, who had been unwell.
Nathaniel’s brother, Adam Matabheek, and his wife had also joined the trip, eager to visit Port Kaituma for the first time.
What was meant to be a long-awaited family visit instead ended in unimaginable heartbreak when the MV Barima sank, claiming the lives of Rachel and her three children.
