01 November 2017

BISHOP CORNELIUS KORIR

ALL SAINTS DAY

     When a person dies I am often inspired by the life that I learn about which was  unbeknownst to me while alive.  That is not the case with Bishop Korir who died on 30th October 2017.  When I was in Kitale during the post-election violence of 2008 Bishop Korir was well known for opening the church compound to 10,000 people who feared for their lives.  He was already an inspiration to me.  But as is usually the case, I have learned even more.

     In 1991 the Pokot and the Marakwet were fighting over livestock.  The Pokot were warriors with firearms.  The Marakwet didn't have modern weapons, just bows and arrows.  To ease tension Bishop Korir helped to build cattle dips and schools on the border between the two communities.  They dug two dams to provide water for both communities.  The Gates foundation helped to put up milk cooling plants.  Since the fighting stopped the communities together produce 20,000 litres of milk per day, earning as much as 20 million shillings ($200,000) a month. They have formed a cooperative with board members from both communities.  Bishop described this as his most successful peace initiative among a litany of other projects.  He will always be known as the peacemaking Bishop and a saintly man who shows us what we can do if we really try to follow Jesus.

LINEAR IgA BULLOUS DERMATITIS

      I know that some of you aren't particularly interested to look at medical pictures but this is my work and this little boy was really stranded.  In January he had been properly diagnosed by a dermatologist at the government hospital to have this rare skin disease which I had never heard of before.  He was treated and improved but then relapsed.  The nurses have been striking since June 5th so the government hospital told him to go somewhere else.  The mother heard of one of our clinics located two hours away from where she lived and across the ferry!!!  She got up very early and brought him to me desperate for help.  He is a cute little boy who itches all over but still manages to smile.  Almost his entire body is covered with this rash from head to toe.  Thanks to the internet I could send pictures to a dermatologist who confirmed the diagnosis and I could read up on the treatment and source the medicine he needed.  I had arranged to see the mother at another clinic last week on the day before the rerun of the elections.  To my shock I learned the night before that the next day was now a public holiday and no one could work.  I arranged to meet the mother at the Cathedral in town to give her the medicine and explain to her it is an autoimmune condition that is not caused by anything that she or anyone else did.  (There are always ideas that the illness is caused by a curse from someone evil).  No one had taken the time to tell her that this is a condition that he will live with for the rest of his life and will need to take medicines almost continuously.   Every patient teaches me something and this little boy has taught me a lot.  It is my privilege to be able to help him heal.

    The opposition party announced yesterday that they will not accept the election of Uhuru Kenyatta calling the poll a sham.  They plan to use civil disobedience, economic boycotts and the formation of a 'Peoples' Assembly' to plan the way forward to bring about another rerun of the election in 90 days and to change the constitution.  Mombasa is quiet with no violence.  Nairobi and Western (where many of the opposition live) continue to have pockets of violence but the US Embassy is back to work.  The future for this country is still uncertain.  The President says the decision has been made and we should get on with our lives.  The opposition party says that if this election is recognized officially it will enshrine corruption and impunity in the governance of the country.  

PEACE OF THE 

CLOUD OF WITNESSES

TO YOU

WE ARE SURROUNDED BY LOVE