Dear friends and students,
I send you greetings and blessings from Nairobi, Kenya.
I have been in Nairobi for the last
five days and have been very busy with our humanitarian
projects here. I am constantly
reminded that I have not only come to a different country,
I have come to a different word.
What I hear, see and feel is often overwhelming. To be
honest, I am happier here than many
other places I visit because I see the results of our efforts
and how people's lives are
changed everyday with so little effort.
I am so happy to share a letter with you written by a
Kenyan, Mr. Mwiti Kirimi, who traveled
with me on my first day here. I hope you will have a few
minutes to read this and that it will
inspire you as well.
with love and blessings,
Bhante Wimala
An inspiring day with Bhante wimala; Visit to Ol'Kalou,
Kenya
By Mwiti Kirimi
Today is the 28th of September 2006. Yesterday, I spent
the whole day traveling with the
Buddhist monk Bhante Wimala. In five days, his busy schedule
in Kenya will have him
traveling to many remote regions of the country. Today,
the first day of his visit, we traveled
by car to the Ol'Kalou district, 200 km northwest of Kenya's
capital, Nairobi.
Ol'Kalou stands over 9000 ft above sea level and most
of the inhabitants are small peasant
farmers. The purpose of the visit here was to provide wheelchairs
to some physically-challenged residents and to deliver
some medical equipment to the local hospital. We
traveled over 500 km, along many dusty and unpaved bumpy
roads, visiting several villages
to bring help to those who are in need.
The recipient of our first wheelchair was 28-year-old
John Kasuky. John used to earn a
living by working as a lumberjack. One fateful day two
years ago his back was crushed by a
huge log. Both of his legs were paralyzed. He was not able
to go out unless somebody
carried him. Jon Kasuky received his first wheelchair from
Bhante Wimala that will make a
big difference in his life.
Our next stop was to the town of Ol'Kalou to donate
the second wheelchair to 14-year-old
John Wangari. John developed a strange sickness that left
both of his legs paralyzed,
prompting him to drop out of school. In a small wooden
booth made by his father John sells
phone cards. His father brings him to the booth by bicycle
every morning and takes him
back home each evening. There was no other way for John
to move around since becoming
paralyzed two years ago. He got his first wheelchair from
Bhante. Bhante was visibly moved
by the courage and the determination of the young man to
succeed amid difficulties.
Our next stop was Dundori, a small village near Ol'Kalou.
There, two middle aged women
were waiting for us at the small St. Monica Catholic Church
of the village. They had come to
receive our third and fourth wheelchairs of the day. Mrs.
Mburu, a mother of four children,
was hurrying home form the market in February 1987 when
she was hit and run over by a
hit-and-run driver. Both of her legs were amputated below
the knees. She had been using
outfits made from old car tires to crawl around her home
or even to the market. It was a
very joyful day for her to receive her first wheelchair.
Mrs. Kamore was the recipient of the fourth wheelchair
of the day. She was brought to
church in Dundori on a bicycle by a relative. In 2004,
Mrs. Kamore suddenly fell ill and
became paralyzed below the waist. She might have had a
stroke. She had not been able to
move around since her illness---until today.
During his visit, Bhante was told about a 7-year-old boy
who can not pass urine. For a few
years now, this boy has been living in great pain. He needs
surgery and the parents are
poor peasant farmers who can not afford to pay. Bhante
decided to visit the boy at his
home. Traveling along an unpaved dusty road off the main
road we arrived at his small mud
house at dusk. Bhante listened to the emotional appeal
of the mother to help her son and
talked to the little boy with the help of an interpreter
whose pants were wet with urine. I
could see how the situation really disturbed Bhante's
mind as he sought ways to help him to
have a corrective surgery.
Agnes Njeru, an elderly woman, lost the use of her legs
after getting sick with severe
typhoid three years ago. We walked through darkness with
the help of a flashlight to see
her sitting on a chair in the back of the house. The family
members who surrounded her to
see her receiving the wheelchair were happy and so grateful.
She was the last lucky one to
be touched by Bhante's compassion on this joyous day as
she received the wheelchair, the
fifth one of the day.
As we bid the family goodbye, it was dark and raining.
Rain doesn't normally come here at
this time of the year. In the belief of most communities
in Kenya such rain can be a sign of
blessings after a visit of a man of compassion and peace.
The rain confirmed that Bhante is
one!
By the time we dropped him off at his temple it was almost
midnight. It was a day we
shared happiness with so many people. As I understand,
the next few days are going to be
even busier for him. I know he is planning similar trips
into remote regions of Kenya to help
many more people. I am so happy that I could share an inspiring
day with Bhante Wimala.
