Thursday, November 24, 2011

Our little Joshua aka China is taken ill

Daylight's praying friends,

We wish to thank you all for the prayers and support following our baby Joshua Ruto's sudden illness. Little Joshua, who is also known as "China", and how this nickname came about is another story for another day - but suffice to say that locals think that everything about him is made here in Pokot save for the eyes and eyebrows which appear,  in most likelihood, to have come from somewhere in Guangzhou or Beijing, in the greater People's Republic of China (and hopefully, as it were, these are not counterfeits though but original Chinese products).

I should add that this correlation is no accident, Chinese people are common sights here in Kenya and in extension Africa. In the recent years, China have opened shop in Africa. As a result, there are lots of Chinese companies ( not to mention products) and people here. And as such, I can understand why the locals compare in resemblance Joshua's facial features wit that of the Chinese folk - whereas in fact everything about him is homegrown, no exotic additions, whatsoever. At least not any that I know of...

That aside, baby China, who is now approaching  his first birthday anniversary, has been in hospital since last Sunday. He was taken ill at Kapenguria District Hospital in Pokot on Sunday, with a severe health deterioration ( it is now established by the Doctors in Kitale that his is a case of a chronic/advanced malaria).

At the hospital he was treated and discharged on Monday at noon. At around 4pm, just a few hours after being discharged from Hospital, little Joshua went into convulsion. And it was a rush against the odds, and thank God we arrived at the Hospital at the nick of time, and on arrival his heart was still beating. Thank God! And he was immediately resuscitated and put on IV drips. China continued to be on  IV drips and medication until yesterday, Wednesday when the Doctors at the Kapenguria Hospital recommended that he be referred to Cherangany Hospital and Nursing Home. 

We did move him there, and that he is receiving some good medical attention. Apparently, little China is out of danger - the lord is healing him. And soon he will be out of hospital with a clean bill of health. We all want to thank you praying friends for all of the support we have received. And I wanted to put you updated on China's wellness - and continue to do so in every step on the way. 

I took some snapshots of Joshua receiving treatment using my cellphone camera, and I have included some of them here below. Take a look:


On the first IV drips 


Angelina, my wife, and Joshua at the hospital ward



Friday, November 18, 2011

Alfonso and Alale Calling for Harambee!

Dear Friends of Daylight ,
Greetings from Daylight, Pokot, Kenya! The Children and Staff at Daylight are doing great. My family and I too are doing terrific by God’s grace and providence. Indeed, we all sing in joy and gratitude an “Amazing grace”! – This far the lord has been faithful in watching over us…
Likewise I hope you are doing good, and that the good lord has seeing you through the year, 2011.
Alsonso Keliman at his homestead
Anyway, I write to convey greetings and message from your long time friend from Alale, Pokot, Kenya - Alfonso Keliman whose picture is shown alongside.

Some of you ( ie Rachel Finsaas, Nathan Roberts, Leah Welch, Samantha Webster, David Maus, Megan Green, Michael McCranie and Lauren Loderstrom) have met him and hang out/visited with him at Alale/Kapenguria. Those of you who will be visiting Daylight sometime soon or in the future will certainly not miss you have a day with Alfonso. He is one fun guy to be around with. He is always full of life... smiling and so inviting. 
Rachel Finsaas, U of M grad Student, trying a hand at milking a camel

Alfonso is a community leader. In Alale village, Alfonso is more than willing to get Daylight friends around, and often times he would slaughter a goat or let friends try out milking one or two of his camels. As a leader he is the one who speaks on behalf of the community. When Daylight was receiving the first batch of Students, Alfonso was the one who offered a big goat for the children. And he always stayed close with the Daylight Kids ministry. He has so much love children and he also  believes life at the villages can improve for the better in the years ahead. 

One of the Harambee invitation card send out
Currently, he is involved in some big initiative at the village, an endeavor that might revolutionize how the villagers go about their daily chores! And he has asked me to share with you about that venture  – a fund raising event at his home village this Saturday 19thNovember 2011 (See the  above invitation card send out).

Locally, this exercise is popularly known as an HARAMBEE (i.e. pulling together). It is a Kenyan way of getting things done by and through a network or cloud of friends and family.  In this event the aim is to aid in helping Alfonso's village get a tractor for plowing land for the purposes of growing crops/cereals. As you may be aware, the people in Alale are turning to crop growing since animal keeping has continued to become unsustainable due to cattle rustling and increasingly dwindling numbers of the animals over the years.