Bishop Okiring: Clergy who talked the talk and walked the walk

Published on 25/02/2012 in The Standard Newspaper

By SAMMY JAKAA

He is remembered for leading one the fiercest battles when he fought for cessation of the Iteso from Nambale Diocese because of alleged mistreatment of his community.

The climax of the struggle that took place between 1986 and 1991, was the hunger strike by Katakwa faithful, who camped at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, forcing the then ACK Archbishop, the late Manasses Kuria, to appoint two commissions to resolve the impasse.

After a long struggle, the Diocese of Katakwa was finally carved out of the Diocese of Nambale in 1991, and its first bishop, Okiring, consecrated and enthroned on May 19, that year.

Bishop Eliud Okiring (seated second left) in a family photo. [PHOTOS: COURTESY]

Throughout his fight, he was the ACK archdeacon of Mt Elgon under the then bishop of Nambale, Isaac Namango, who was opposed to the formation of Katakwa Diocese.

Born in 1942, Bishop Eliud Okiring rose through the ranks to become the first Anglican bishop of Katakwa Diocese.

Those who knew the clergy, who succumbed to brain cancer last Thursday at a Nairobi hospital, say they have lost a great man and a leader.

Touched lives

They term him as great a mobiliser, and human rights activist who would not sit and watch others being exploited.

Residents say he was a respected opinion leader and a consultant who sat in various committees in western region.

"The late bishop was a charismatic leader whose advice was highly valued. He was committed to conflict resolution and active in various committees in the district and province. We have indeed lost one of our greatest assets," said Jones Muruga, a resident.

He is said to be among the few men of God who walked the talk. "Teso and Kenya has indeed lost an illustrious son. He was among the few venerated men of God whose every word was replicated in action. He touched the lives of many," says Okoit Lok’ Etyang.

The ACK Archbishop Eliud Wabukala said the death of the retired Bishop was a great blow to the Church and clergy.

Wabukala added that Okiring was a great evangelist and a committed Church leader, who dedicated his entire life in serving God.

During his 12 years as a bishop of Katakwa Diocese, he championed a lot of reforms, especially through peace initiatives that saw the parishes double from 22 in 1991 to the current 44.

The current Bishop of Katakwa Diocese, Reverend Zakayo Epusi, said the retired bishop was an exemplary leader whose efforts led to the creation and rapid growth of Katakwa Diocese.

"We need to keep the family, Diocese, House of Bishops and Christians of the Church in prayer during this trying moment," said Epusi.

Bishop Michael Sande of the Butere Diocese said Bishop Okiring mastered all Luhya dialects in Western, making him a Church leader with such rare quality.

After his retirement in 2006, Bishop Okiring founded Destitute Mother Child Organisation (Demco).

Demco is a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping HIV/Aids orphans, widows and vulnerable children and women in Western Province.

It provides food, medicine, clothing and education to over 120 orphans and poor children.

The organisation also empowers widows and poor women by funding sustainable income generating projects for women groups.

Demco’s activities are mainly centered in Teso North and Teso South districts, Mt Elgon, and the larger Bungoma.

Well-knit family

Okiring and his wife, Beatrice, have six children. His first-born son, Douglas Okiring, says the loss cannot be quantified and being the eldest in the family the death of his father has created a challenge to him.

He, however, says Bishop Okiring has left the best-knit family ever. He is determined to build on the legacy that his father has left.

"To us we have lost a brother because we used to refer to each other as ‘ndugu’. It is going to be a great challenge to me as the first-born. However, we will build on the legacy," he adds.

The late bishop will be buried on March 10, at St Mark, Hoito ACK, church compound in Mt Elgon District.

There will be a service at All Saints Cathedral Nairobi on March 7. The body will then be flown from Wilson Airport the following day to Bungoma airstrip and later to Katakwa Cathedral.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/archives/women/InsidePage.php?id=2000052875&cid=4&

Eulogy For Bishop Elilud Okiring

Dear Family and Friends of Bishop Okiring,

My name is Michelle Vidro. Here in Kenya I am known as Meeshka, as that is my nickname in the United States, and the name of my jewelry design company, Meeshka Jewelry Designs. I am so honored to have known Bishop Okiring. I only wish I could have known him better, and for longer. I'd like to tell you the story of how we met, and how I came to help support DEMCO.

Back in 2004 I met Bishop's son Jairus at a Hilton Hotel in Florida where my family and I sought refuge after Hurricane Charley. At that time I was looking for an organization in Kenya that would benefit AIDS orphans where I could donate profits earned from the sale of my 14 Cows jewelry line. You see, after 9/11, the Massai donated 14 of their sacred cows to my country to help us heal from the tragedy. I was so moved by their generosity, I realized then that it didn't matter what you give, or how much you give, it only matters that you give. And so my search began for a way to give back to Kenya.

When I met Jairus he noticed my jewelry made of beads from Africa. I noticed his name tag said he was from Kenya. We made a connection right away. He told me about his parents, Bishop and Beatrice, and that while growing up he and his brothers always had to make room for the orphans that Mama Beatrice brought home. He described the work they were doing in Amagoro to help the orphans and destitute women. Over time, our friendship grew, as did the communication with Bishop and Beatrice, thanks to email via his family over in Kenya. Thank you Mathew and Jairus for facilitating our friendship.

I was so happy to know that whatever I could raise and donate would go directly to benefit the children. Those that heard our story would get goosebumps, inspiring them to also show their support. I believe that life provides us with opportunities to learn, grow, and benefit from touching others lives. The many lives that Bishop has touched with his good works are a testament to the kind of man he was.

It wasn't long until I had the privilege and honor of meeting Beatrice and Bishop Okiring when they came to visit Jairus in Florida. The warmth of that time we spent together will stay with me forever. They also met my parents, who lived in Florida at that time as well. What fun we had sharing and comparing cultures and day to day life. I'm sure we fascinated each other with our many differences and similarities.

It is my dream to visit Kenya, hopefully soon. Although I will be so happy to meet the children and be with Mama Beatrice, I will be sad that I didn't come sooner. Something will be sorely missing when I visit. I wish I didn't wait. It will be bittersweet, for sure, to come to Kenya. But Bishop will be with me always in my heart. I will carry him there and know that he certainly has touched my life.

I hope that when I come to Kenya I will have the honor to meet all of you, for if you are a friend of Bishop Okiring, you are a friend of mine.

On behalf of myself, and of those of us here in the United States who support DEMCO, I pass our deepest love and condolences to the family and friends of Bishop Okiring, and to the women and children in DEMCO's care. Many here in the U.S. have expressed their sadness for this huge loss.

We will all miss you deeply. Peace be with you, Bishop, and peace be with all of you here today.

Thank you... and many blessings.
Peace and Love,
Meeshka

Update From Kenya

I just heard from Mathew (Bishop's son) in Kenya and he told me that DEMCO will continue it's work under the watchful eye of Mama Beatrice (Bishop's beautiful wife). She will take over the Directorship to ensure that "no child will be abandoned whatsoever as Rt-Demco's plans are great. It will continue assisting all the vulnerable children, especially the Orphans."

Plans are underway for Bishop Okiring's burial on March 10th. I will be composing a message to be read on that day. If anyone wants to add anything please let me know and I will include it.

Peace, Love, and Many Blessings,
Michelle

In Honor Of Bishop Eliud Okiring

I received very sad news yesterday. My dear friend Bishop Eliud Okiring has passed away. He is survived by his beautiful wife, Beatrice, his family and friends, and the women and children he has worked so tirelessly in his lifetime to help. Please join me in passing our love and support to all that are saddened by this tremendous loss.
Peace and Love,
Meeshka

Global Soap Project: Recycling Hotel Soap Saves Children's Lives

From Jessica Ellis, CNN

Wed February 22, 2012

(CNN) -- What happens to the bar of soap you barely used the last time you checked into a hotel room? Most certainly it's gone to waste at the end of each day.

This was a shocking revelation for Ugandan humanitarian and social entrepreneur Derreck Kayongo during his first stay in a U.S. hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1990s.

"When i checked into the hotel, there were 3 bars of soap - there was body soap, hand soap and face soap and that did not include the shampoos - and so for me that was a new experience, I was thinking to my self, "why do they have soap for every part of their bodies?" Kayongo recalls. "Now, my goodness, why would you throw away such a resource?"

The striking realization stayed with Kayongo, a Ugandan native who spent much of his childhood as a refugee in Kenya, and prompted him years later to create the Global Soap Project. The non-profit organization reprocesses used soaps from hotels around the United States and turns them into new bars for impoverished nations such as Uganda, Kenya, Haiti and Swaziland.

Kayongo says an estimated 2.6 million bars of soap are discarded every day from hotels in the United States -- collecting such an enormous amount of soap, he notes, can help poor countries fight disease and combat child mortality by improving access to basic sanitation.

"We have more than two million kids that die every year to lower respiratory diseases like diarrhea," says Kayongo. "If you are able to put a bar of soap in every child's hand, you are able to reduce infectious diseases like diarrhea and things like typhoid and cholera by 40%.

"So the intervention became immediate for me and that's when I thought we have a solution for kids in Africa, Latin America, Asia that die every year."

Based in Atlanta, Kayongo started the Global Soap Project in 2009 by going door to door, pitching his lifesaving idea to local hotels. So far, some 300 hotels across the United States have joined Kayongo's cause, enabling him and his team to reprocess thousands of soap bars and ship them to 18 developing countries.

The recycled soap is only released for shipment once a sample is tested for pathogens and deemed safe by a third-party laboratory. The Global Soap Project then works with partner organizations to ship and distribute the soap directly to people who need it for free.

Last summer, Kayongo personally delivered 5,000 bars to Kenya Relief, Brittney's Home of Grace orphanage.

"When I took the soap to the orphans and they smelled the bar of soap, ah, you could see the joy -- those little messages of hope is what people need when they are between a rock and a hard place," he says.

The son of a soap maker, Kayongo has experienced what it is like to live in tough conditions.

His happy early childhood in the 1970s was suddenly brought to an end after Uganda's President Idi Amin waged war against Tanzania. Kayongo and his parents soon fled to neighboring Kenya to escape the horrors of conflict and witnessed first hand the struggle to survive without access to basic necessities.

"When you have come from a home that you knew, you're used to your food, your friends...to move from that to become a nobody and to literally be called a refugee is as dramatic as it gets."

He got a new chance in life through education, first in Nairobi and then in the United States. Today, he runs the Global Soap Project from a warehouse in Atlanta, with the help of volunteers from all across the United States, determined to improve the quality of lives in the developing world.

"When I was a refugee, a pen pal letter was all I needed to get through the day," he recalls. "If the bar of soap is going to help them get through the day then good, but our final goal is to change behavior and make sure they wash up and to stop diseases like diarrhea from infecting people and killing people -- that is our ultimate goal, we have yet to achieve that."

Last year, Kayongo was a top 10 finalist for the CNN Hero of the Year award. The recognition, he says, has boosted the popularity of the Global Soap Project, helping him and his team to promote the cause for better sanitation.

"We are seeing an up tick of the number of hotels that are registering with us," he says. "We are seeing a lot of volunteers coming to work with us, so there is a lot of traffic happening right now for us and that is going to help us make more soap."

Despite all the success, Kayongo is determined to continue dedicating time and effort in his cause. He says his goal for this year is to make a million bars of soap.

"If you want to do big things and you want to bring big change then you have to be able to give in a big way," he says.

"It's important to understand what this is about -- people coming together globally to connect the dots.

"So I say 'travel, use the soap' because that soap goes eventually to help refugees, orphans. This is not about Africa per se, it's about the collective good as humans to solve problems and that's what we are trying to do."

Mended Heart Necklace Mentioned In Arts Business Institute Blog

The GREAT HANDMADE VALENTINE'S DAY GIFTS article published this morning. I am SO proud and honored to be among the talented artists in this Arts Business Institute article. I'm also very excited to have the Mended Heart Necklace listed at the top of their blog post!

How does all of this news benefit 14 Cows and our efforts to help the women and children in Kenya? 14 Cows is a line within Meeshka Jewelry Designs many offerings. Any mention of Meeshka Jewelry Designs helps bring traffic to the sale of 14 Cows jewelry, which sends it's profits to DEMCO (Destitute Women And Children Organization) in Amagoro, Kenya. The news of this article had already generated sales of 14 Cows jewelry even before the article published this morning.

So, I'm off to fill those orders. Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day, and may all your days be filled with peace and love.

~meeshka

Arts Business Institute Blog and Meeshka Jewelry Designs Mended Heart Necklace

I am very excited and proud to have had the Mended Heart Necklace chosen to be included in The Arts Business Institute blog article about Valentine's Day gifts that are made in America.

The Mended Heart Necklace symbolizes
the resilience of a loving heart.

Hearts can break,
hearts can mend,
and love is stronger in the end.

Since 1994, The Arts Business Institute has provided thousands of successful studio artists with a structured curriculum developed by top creative entrepreneurs, top selling artists, gallery owners and marketing experts. I have benefited from participating in their workshops.

The article will publish tomorrow and can be seen at: http://www.artsbusinessinstitute.org