Installment 16

Installment 15
Tonight I am going to tell you a story about Africa. It is a true story. In fact, it is a story that happened today.
But first I should share a little back ground….probably not needed as you have all read my last blog and know the story of Mama Emu. Mama was found along side the road in a ditch, about 1 hour from here. Along with her was her 10 month old baby. It was soon determined that she was in dire straits and the baby needed care. The police in conjunction with the Children’s Services placed the baby with Instep. This was in late January. As you know, Mama (Sarah) almost died, revived and then passed away this last Saturday. This, you all know. You also know that the reason that she died was because she didn’t have enough food for both her and Emmanuel and so she truly died of starvation. After seeking police help, Jeff and Carla could come up with no known relatives or even solid connections. So this family grew by one more wonderful child.
Now the story. Today at about 9 am, Jeff asked Eliud, whom I’ve known since 2002, and I to go to town, check on the condition of Sarah’s body, pay the hospital bill, arrange to bury her and get permission from the city to place her in the cemetery. We don’t handle it quite this way where I am from, but felt that however it works here, I was willing to do whatever needed to be done.
We managed the ‘roads’ and came to the hospital complex. I can’t really explain the hospital, but if you will stay with me, I’ll give you some glimpses. The first thing that we had to do was see what the condition of the body was. Remember, that this is 1 degree north of the equator, and the days are hot. They don’t always embalm and so we wanted to bury her as soon as possible. Eliud said he was thankful that I was with him as he really didn’t like the morgue. I didn’t blame him, but said that it had to be done. Walking thru a maze of small buildings, we came to the morgue. I won’t tell you any more, but even if I did, you either wouldn’t believe it or couldn’t handle it. Enough said. But we did find Sarah, and she had been embalmed and so gave us some time. Unfortunately there was no dignity and she was completely exposed, naked, with about 8 other bodies. Next, we went to the small building marked Ward 7. This is where Sarah was ‘cared’ for, and where her records were kept. They don’t have a central records department like we do at home. We were in a 20’ x 24’ room, made of concrete. We sat in front of a desk in the middle of the room. Surrounding us were about 12 normal sized beds, each with 2 or 3 women occupying them. I don’t think that if I am in the hospital at home I will complain about sharing a room again. Each bed had different kinds of blankets and linen. That’s because the hospital only provides a bed and mattress…no linen or anything else, so it is up to family and friends to take care of the basic needs of the patient….even food for most of them. There were some doctors and nurses that seemed to care however. So, as we are sitting there, we were told that we needed a signed form from the morgue. Back to the morgue we went, and had to ID the body again, got the form and went back to 7. Now we are about 1 ½ hrs in. I wish that I knew how to write in a way that could give you a real understanding of how this really is here, but I can’t. But, here is where the hand of God came in again, in a miraculous way. Stay with me here. It was yesterday that Eliud was supposed to get all this done and it just didn’t work out, so here we were today. We are sitting in 7 waiting, and Eliud’s phone rings and he talked some Swahili, and hung up. Looking at me he says “we have trouble.” As we went out of the ward he said that a taxi driver up on the street called him and said that there were 4 men that new Sarah and wanted to talk to us. The only thing that could mean in Kenya is that they wanted something. So we go and meet them and they said that they would like to talk about Sarah. Because I am white and could be seen for exploitation, E told them to go to the police where Sarah was found and talk to them. “No, no, no.” was their reply. “What do you want?” asked E. “Nothing, I am her brother and haven’t seen her since 1999. A woman came to our village in Uganda and said that she knew Sarah was sick and in the hospital in Kitale, and so we have made the journey to find her, but when we came we were told she had passed.” explained one of the men. None spoke English, so E translated. They showed us a letter that supported their claim and said that they only wanted to find out about his lost sister. Still wary, I asked E to draw up a letter stating that the men, ( 1 brother, 1 uncle, and 1 inlaw with a friend) wanted nothing and would hold no claim on Sarah or her child. They were willing to sign and we began to talk. They filled in her early years and gave us her birth date and mother & father info along with her village of origin and tribe. Plus the woman that had informed them of Sarah had given them some other info filling in some gaps. Most of the kids here will have no knowledge of their history before Instep, so this is a wonderful thing for Emmanuel to know as he grows up. Then they asked to see Sarah, so back we went again. It confirmed to us that they were ligit when they broke down sobbing upon seeing her. We will see them at the funeral, which will be tomorrow. This is God at work….another couple of hours, and the men would have missed us and Emmanuel wouldn’t have this history…..and how did a taxi driver know that we were in the hospital about Sarah…..just how?? God’s timing is something else….
This story is long and I will make it shorter by saying that it took about 2/12 more hrs to pay the hospital bill, get a body release, and the form to take to the city to get authorization to bury her. It wasn’t as easy as that, but we got the form, went to city hall, paid for the permit….more time waiting, and then went to the cemetery to make sure the grave was being dug. It was done, but we had to haggle the price as we were being taken advantage of. And the cemetery….green grass, headstones ect…..no, a rough field with many small bumps with no organization and only a small handful of wooden crosses. Bad enough, but part of the used cemetery had been freshly plowed to plant maize…..plowed, right over graves….I don’t get it.
Tomorrow, we pick up the wooden casket, go to the morgue, pick up Sarah, and go to the cemetery and have a service….even some of English Lady’s crew and herself will be there, as they cared for Sarah until the end.
So all I can say is I am tired and sad and emotionally shot….I don’t mean to complain, just that some of you have asked for more detail on the real Kenya. I am really appreciative of Jeff and Carla, who have no obligation to Sarah, but want to treat her with dignity and give her a proper send off….paying all the bills and making all the arrangements…like they don’t have enough to do already. I feel privileged to be a part of giving this heroic mother honor. Because of her sacrifice Emmanuel lives…..greater love has no man that that he lay down his life for another…..looking forward to seeing her. Not so funny, but real.
The story is true and even the names are right…I know, because I was there