THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407190164
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY EILEEN MALEC, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Down the long silent hall of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital's ninth floor a hint of laughter is often heard in Room 910. Sometimes it's accompanied by a beautiful recitation of poetry, other times a song of worship.
It's also where you'll find the Rev. Ditawa Nianda anytime he gets a chance. Visiting Tarji Adenekan has become something of a ritual for the hospital chaplain.
Last March, as Nianda was walking to his car on his way home for the day, a nurse stopped him to ask if he would meet a ``special person.'' Tarji was in rehabilitation treatment for serious burn injuries she had suffered Aug. 5, 1993. When Nianda entered her room, he was amazed. ``I came to minister to her, but she ministered to me,'' he said.
Tarji, now 26, told Nianda how she was on her way to choir practice, driving a used car on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway, when suddenly a stream of fire shot up from a rusted hole by the gas pedal. The stream of fire consumed her left toes, right foot, hand, ear, eye and part of her head down to the skull. The car crashed into a tree near the home of an off-duty firefighter who rescued her.
``There was no way to escape,'' she said, ``but I've come out a survivor, making many of the medical predictions a fallacy.''
She was in a coma for three months, hooked up to every life-support system imaginable. Although she lived in New Jersey at the time, she was moved to the hospital here at the urging of her mother, who lives in Norfolk. Tarji declares her continued existence is due to a ``true and living God.''
She also credits Nianda, one of three chaplains on staff at the hospital, for helping her get through this arduous time. ``He has been very encouraging and sensitive,'' she said. ``He has the ability to see beyond a person's disability and to the person's character.''
Nianda is known throughout the hospital for his listening ear, peaceable spirit and a gift for asking the right questions. His compassion to serve others, however, is something that Nianda has known only recently.
Born in 1953 in Zaire, Nianda lived in poverty with his parents, two brothers and four sisters. His father worked at a shoe factory, while his mother provided extra income by planting gardens.
At age 13, a missionary came to his town and preached a sermon on ``There are so many lands to labor but few hands.'' Nianda knew he was called to be one of those ``hands,'' but the fear of abject poverty led him to dream and pursue a law or medical degree.
After graduating from high school, he took a position teaching biology, algebra and civil education to a classroom of 55 students, ages 13 to 15. In order to satisfy ``the call,'' he also pastored a small church in the area and attended the Protestant Seminary of Zaire.
After two years of struggling as a teacher and pastor, Nianda and his wife, Marie, decided to leave their homeland in 1977 and move to America. They arrived in Virginia so Nianda could study business administration at Virginia Tech. He stayed only about a year before moving on to Charlotte, N.C., where he completed his studies at Pfeiffer College.
Nianda secured a job with Sigma Insurance Co. and seemed to finally be settling down. But something still wasn't right.
``There was something missing even though I was content with the job,'' Nianda recalled. ``The promotions were coming, but I didn't have peace.''
Nianda knew he needed to stop bargaining with God and running away from his ``call.'' So he enrolled in the Divinity School at Duke University. While there in 1988 he learned that one of his brothers had developed kidney problems and died. As a result, Nianda dedicated his life to God and determined to become a pastor in the hospital ministry.
After Duke, he attended a Clinical Pastoral Education program at the University of North Carolina Hospital at Chapel Hill and last October he accepted a position with Sentara Norfolk General as a staff chaplain.
Nianda and his wife live in a Kempsville Lakes townhouse with their three sons: Minu, 11; Mulemvo, 8, and Kiese, 21 months.
At Sentara, Nianda is content visiting the patients of the 644-bed hospital. Often he will meet with family members in the waiting room.
``I feel very fulfilled when helping people in crisis, because all my life growing up was just one crisis after another,'' he said.
His goal is to train lay people to visit the sick in hospitals and to one day start a chaplain service in Zaire where such benefits do not exist.
Last week, when Nianda visited Tarji, the woman quickly penned these words about their friendship:
``Rev. Ditawa will spend a lot of time with me,
``Even if it means one hour.
``His personality is very sweet,
``So I am delighted every time we meet.
``We have someone in common and
``This someone has all of the power.
``I will call this someone our Strong Tower.
``Every time we meet, He sees us.
``And I believe His name is Jesus.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
The Rev. Ditawa Nianda, chaplain at Sentara Norfolk General, visits
with burn victim Tarji Adenekan in her hospital room.
by CNB