By Alva Solomon
It may be historical and some residents of Port Kaituma in the North West District of Region One (Barama-Waini) may have been surprised to know that there are five identical twins attending secondary school in the community.
Recently, as the community prepared to celebrate the annual Mashramani activities, a photograph was posted on the school’s Facebook page. The photograph had multiple shares, as many fans of the page reacted with kind words of love. “I should have gone to Kaituma in my young days,” one fan reacted in tones of joy. “Cheers of joy,” another said.
Among the identical twins are Joshua and his brother Josiah Griffin. “They are in grade seven,” their mother Abigail told this publication. Their mother said that although she heard about the others, she never saw the identical two girls, but she knows of the boys.
She said her sons are 12 years old; they were born at Port Kaituma on November 24, and were raised there. In addition, they have a younger brother and a younger sister.
Abigail, who is a single parent, said she feels happy to know that her sons may be part of a historic bunch. She said she was surprised that there are so many twins attending the same school at the same time. “I still laugh at it. My sons look so short,” she said with a giggle.
She said the boys would sometimes share the same taste when it comes to certain foods. In addition, Abigail said she has observed that when one of the boys becomes ill, the other would become ill soon after the first has recovered.
Additionally, she said the boys are always looking out for each other. “If one is away for let’s say three or four days, the other would look worried and lonely. But the minute they get back together, they are usually happy together again,” she said of her sons. She said, luckily for her, her sons do not become ill often, and she noted that she is most thankful to the Almighty for that.
Residents of Port Kaituma noted that the presence of the identical twins within their community has warmed many hearts. “It is something that we always knew, but only now the children are growing and we seeing them more,” a nurse in the community told this publication.
Research has shown that identical twins often share an intense bond. The pair is the result of one fertilized egg splitting into two, giving them identical DNA.
In March 2021, the BBC reported that more twins are being born than ever before. According to the report, approximately 1.6 million twins are born each year worldwide, with one in every 42 children born a twin.
According to the BBC, the health journal Human Reproduction reported that the peak was reached because of large increases in twinning rates in all regions over 30 years – from a 32% rise in Asia to a 71% rise in North America.
