By Nyang’au Araka
Some gestures pierce through our cluttered lives with such quiet dignity, they leave you wordless.
A few weeks ago, I shared an urgent appeal on my WhatsApp status about my friend Eric Ong’uti Ayuka, whose hospital bill had soared past Ksh.6 million following a life-saving kidney transplant.
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Many reacted, a few responded but one call stayed with me. It was from another dear friend, quietly battling stage 4 cancer.
I’ve never shared his name and I won’t start now. What matters is what he did.
He had called to understand more about Eric’s condition. I explained that Eric had undergone a kidney transplant in India but had unfortunately been readmitted to MP Shah Hospital, Nairobi due to post-operative complications.
The bill was climbing swiftly, mercilessly. He listened carefully. Then, he said he would send something. Days later, true to his word, he sent Ksh.2,000.
Now, pause with me.
Here is a man whose body is a battleground for cancer. His savings have been exhausted by an unrelenting disease. And yet he found it in himself to dig into his depleted resources and give because someone else was drowning too.
That act humbled and challenged me in equal measure. It reminded me that compassion is not measured by what we give when we have plenty, but by what we’re willing to share when we barely have enough.
“Today, Eric’s hospital bill has crossed the Ksh.10 million mark.”
–Nyang’au Araka
The latest update from his family comes with a heavy heart, but also with renewed hope. A main fundraising event has been scheduled for July 26th to help offset this overwhelming cost.
It will take place at Lynson Africa Resort, Narok, and will be led by Walter Chanua, a Nyamira County gubernatorial aspirant, and Alfa Miruka, a sitting Member of Parliament.
Instead of doing this as a straight story, I felt that the matter is more than a fundraiser. It’s a lifeline.
I know times are tough. I know you’re being asked to give in many directions.
But if a man staring at his own medical abyss could find something small for a fellow fighter, maybe the rest of us still standing, still breathing easily, can find a way to do a little more.
Let us give not just because Eric is in need, but because mercy, when shared, multiplies.
You may support this cause through:
- Paybill no: 824600, Account no: 102503140069
- Ayuka Shem Monyenye- 0708491449
- Ayuka Wilson Ongeri- 0722170934
-The author is an editor with the Kisii Press Club
