Death Matters is a thought provoking local documentary about dying, recently broadcast on Cape Town TV during May, 2016. Now accessible on YouTube, the 30-minute video points out that the tradition of burying a body in a coffin has created much impact – we have run out of available ground for burials in the Cape Town area, several cemeteries are below the water level during the wet season, cemeteries are often not well maintained, the ground is extremely valuable and could be turned into functional areas for the general public that serve as memorial parks, the components of a coffin contaminate the soil, and the financial outlay is phenomenal. Presenting alternatives to traditional ways and cultural beliefs is what this project is all about, and this is handled with the utmost sensitivity.

One of the options for one’s human remains is to donate your body to the Faculty of Health Sciences as a resource for students to use while learning the structure and function of the human body. If you go to 16:00 minutes into the documentary, you will be able to watch Lucienne discussing the immense value of this as an option. Then listen to Medical students at UCT describing their experiences while dissecting, and expressing their gratitude at the donation of this “silent tutor”.

Death Matters is an initiative of Lucienne Kelfkens as part of the innovative project “Creating space for change”, conducted at the University of Cape Town.