Dear Friends,
I am writing to tell you about the amazing experience I had meeting the Bishop and Beatrice Okiring in Florida last month. You may remember that the way I met the Okiring's was through meeting their son, Jairus, when we were stuck in Florida during hurricane Charley. The Bishop has just retired from the church and they decided to come to Florida to visit Jairus. I took the opportunity to fly to meet them, as I won't be able to travel to Kenya for quite some time. My parents and Jairus both live in Naples, so this was the perfect time for us to meet.

Here are some of the highlights and photos from the trip. This is a long email but if you have the time please read it through. It will give you a better understanding of what 14 COWS jewelry is donating to. It helped me see that my original premise was true. It's not what you give, or how much you give, just give.

Thank you all for your continued support of the orphans through 14 COWS and Meeshka jewelry.
Much Love,
Meeshka
___________________________________________________________________________

Meeting the Okirings has been one of the top ten experiences in my life.

Monday, March 19, 2007
Meeting the Okirings for the first time
My father and I drove to Jairus's house to have a short getting acquainted meeting. We were greeted with song and prayer, and of course hugs and kisses. Then we sat and talked, and Beatrice showered me with gifts from Kenya. Beaded sandals, a shirt for Richard that says Jambo Kenya which means Hello Kenya, and some beaded jewelry. Bishop presented me some information about the new organization, DEMCO, Destitute Mothers and Children Organization. Now that he is retired from the church this is the organization they have created so as not to abandon the children and mother's. I gave them each a peace sign necklace that I made along with the check for the donations from 2006 14 COWS jewelry sales.

Bishop Okiring, Meeshka, Beatrice Okiring

Our donations totaled $400.00 in 2006, which translates to $27,640 Kenyan Schillings.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Presentation at Arbor Trace
On Wednesday we had a presentation at the community where my parents live in Naples. My Dad and Mom organized it to help raise awareness, support, and money for the orphans. Dad had flyers made and posted announcements around the building. Their friend Sheila put an announcement in the local newspaper, The Naples Daily News, about the event.

The event started with an informal discussion. As the guests arrived the discussion grew. We talked about what life was like for them in their village near the border of Uganda. They marked a map showing where the village is. They are part of the Tesa District, and the Tesa tribe. The district has about 230,000 people and covers a large area. The national language is Swahili, and everyone who goes to school has to learn English.

I was really amazed at Jairus's story, as he grew up in that village. He went to school among the other students, with one teacher, sometimes in a school room, other times he sat on a rock under a tree. He went through primary (grade 8), then high school which costs money so only the brightest attend. He passed the state exams and attended college in Nairobi. Then he went on to University in Switzerland, where he had to adapt and learn German. Jairus is an amazingly articulate and intelligent man.

Jairus, Beatrice, and Bishop Okiring

The presentation began with Dad introducing the overall situation in Africa with the AIDS and orphans crisis. He then introduced me and I told my story about my jewelry, 911, the Masai donating the 14 cows, and how I met Jairus at the Hilton after Hurricane Charley. (You can read my story at http://www.meeshka.net/COWS/COWHOME.htm) Then I introduced Jairus.

Jairus Okiring
Jairus told his own story about growing up in that desolate and impoverished region of Kenya. He told us how his father gave him the money to go to university in Switzerland. Jairus said "you mustn't, as then our family will have nothing". Bishop then replied, "no but you must, as if you don't, then our family will have nothing". So Jairus went to study in Switzerland where he had to adapt to life outside of Kenya. He had to learn German and the ways of the culture to fit in. He said for some who go away to study, they have never seen a light switch, or even electricity. They are used to blowing out gas lanterns and were seen trying to blow out the light bulbs. They used the toilet to wash their hands and faces, and many did not know about indoor plumbing or have ever seen water coming out of a faucet. Many of the children in their village do not know of such things. This is how they grow up.

Jairus says he will not forget where he comes from and his intention is to continue to support the mothers and children, and eventually he will return to Kenya. But for now he works in the hospitality and hotel management industry, currently working at a very high end restaurant in Naples.

Jairus then introduced his mother Beatrice Okiring to the audience. He told us she has been the president of the Mothers Union in Kenya, which has over a million members.

Beatrice Okiring
Beatrice came to the podium and in a very quiet voice expressed her great joy to be here, and apologized if it was hard to understand her English. She seemed so shy as she told us she was going to read us a poem. She unfolded her pages and suddenly in a booming voice began the poem:

"AIDS, AIDS, AIDS, AIDS, AIDS, AIDS", she yelled. Her expressiveness and emotion while reading the lengthy poem was extremely moving to all.

Bishop Okiring and DEMCO
Then she introduced the Bishop. Bishop Okiring took to the podium. His speech was humble and powerful and painted a picture of what Kenya is like. He spoke of how on November 25th, 1999, the president of Kenya declared AIDS a national disaster. Poverty, ignorance, and the stigma of AIDS, fuels the pandemic. Education is essential to slow down the rate of infection. Crucial medicines are not reaching the more rural areas such as the Teso Distict.

Bishop Okiring introduced us to the new organization he and Beatrice have founded called DEMCO, Destitute Mother and Child Organization. After being in the priesthood for 33 years Bishop has reached his retirement. During this time Bishop and Beatrice had taken into their home many orphans, and even though they had little, they shared what they had to help. The children and mothers were afraid of being abandoned upon the Bishops retirement, but were promised that would not be so. Bishop has dedicated part of his pension to founding this organization to insure the destitute mothers and children will be cared for.

DEMCO has the following objectives:
1. To support orphans in the community
2. Promote a moral perspective and livelihood to the less fortunate in the community.
3. Empower mothers/widows who have destitute children in their environs.
4. Fight for children's rights in the community.

The government of Kenya discourages orphanages and opts for foster homes. Bishop and Beatrice also provide support for many in their homes. The objective is to let the mothers and children learn leadership at home help them maintain their properties, land, and houses, which might otherwise be taken away by ill-minded relatives. DEMCO also plans to empower women by grouping them in tens and funding income generating projects that are sustainable. Also, brighter orphans are identified and their high school education will be funded, which costs $1,000 per child. Once employed, each child will take one orphan and support them through school in return. DEMCO provides school supplies, food, clothing, and medicine to the younger orphans since the Kenyan government pays for education through grade 8. DEMCO intends to help the widows and infected orphans who can't afford drugs for AIDS, malaria, etc. DEMCO will also pay for the funerals of the deceased. This seems like a lot for one organization in such an impoverished region to bear, but they believe that with one child, one widow, and one destitute at a time, the village will be changed.

DEMCO also plans to build a community center to cater to the children, including a day care, nursery education, counseling, and leadership training center. The land has already been purchased and the project will begin as soon as the funds are available. It will cost $35,000 US dollars to build the entire center.

The Bishop spoke of his trip to Disney World and upon seeing the longs lines of people waiting to get on a ride he asked his son Jairus, how much does it cost for a ticket to get in here? Jairus told him it costs $70. Bishop looked around, saddened as he thought about the orphans back home and the joy they would experience in a place such as Disney. He asked Jairus if these people knew about AIDS and the poverty in Kenya and what just $70 could do to help? Jairus said many probably did not know. Bishop had to then wipe away the sadness as the day continued, as Disney World was so delightful to him that he had to go twice. The entire annual budget for DEMCO for 2007 is just $43,000 US dollars. Not much by our standards, but a tremendous goal for them. Bishop longs to bring ten orphans to Disney World some day to see the joy on their faces.

After Bishop Okiring spoke, Dad concluded the presentation by telling the attendees that there were photos of the children, information, business cards, and envelopes for donations, in the back. Then he opened the forum to questions and answers.

People asked many interesting questions. Many were about AIDS, education, prevention, medication, and marriage. The presentation had started at 3P.M. and at 4:30 Dad wrapped things up. I think the conversation could have continued much longer, but it was time to go get ready for dinner. I had some jewelry on display and many people looked at it and asked questions about the beads. There was a lot of interest in purchasing but I was not using the event to sell. Instead I gave out cards for people to go to the internet site and see the whole 14 COWS collection.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007
After the presentation
After we picked everything up we went up to Mom and Dad's apartment. Beatrice could not believe her eyes. First of all, she was amazed that the building was 17 stories tall. The first thing she did when she walked into the apartment was go directly to the balcony to see the view of the Gulf of Mexico. She had so wanted Jairus to take her to see the ocean, and now she was seeing it. She looked down and kind of lost her balance and stepped away from the edge. Bishop was also amazed. They commented on how large the apartment was and how beautiful and clean it is, and how "everything had a place". We took photos on the balcony with the Gulf of Mexico in the background.

Bishop and Beatrice Okiring with Fred and Florence Vidro (my parents!).

Then we went inside to have some appetizers and refreshments. Mom put out hor-devours, including lobster spread, hummus, crackers, carrots, cheesy crackers, and pistachio nuts. They tried everything cautiously at first and once they found they liked it they were not shy. Bishop seemed to especially like the pistachio nuts, and Beatrice the lobster spread. We talked about how the presentation went and were amazed at the ignorance of the woman who asked why people with AIDS could not be separated from the rest of the population like they did with lepers. Dad and Jairus were involved in deep political discussion and Bishop just listened and kept nodding his head, yes, or no, depending on where the discussion went.

Bishop Okiring, Meeshka, Beatrice Okiring

When we were done Beatrice helped bring glasses to the kitchen. She could not believe her eyes! She had to have her picture taken in it to show the people back home. Her and Bishop looked in amazement at the size of the refrigerator. Beatrice was impressed with the dishwasher and she wished she could take home a microwave oven with her. Mom and I discussed what kinds of foods they eat and if they even have refrigeration. Beatrice told us they have a very small refrigerator, and they eat maize, greens, and if they have meat they slaughter it themselves. She goes out back at cuts the neck of a chicken or a lamb, and takes it from there. No pre-packaged meats at the butcher counter where they live!

Beatrice in my Mom's kitchen.

When we walked by the laundry room she asked, "another kitchen?!?!?!". We all laughed and explained. They was clothes by hand back home.

We left the apartment and took them up to the 17th floor, where there is a great room for people to gather, with a tremendous view, a telescope, a grand piano, another kitchen, and beautifully appointed chairs, sofas, carpets, drapes, and decor in general. Once again they were amazed at the beauty of it all. They said "America is a great country". Bishop had said in his speech that "in 100 years Kenya could not be like America", and he repeated that again. Of course, they also had to have their photos taken in this room, too.

Bishop and Beatrice Okiring, background is the Gulf of Mexico and a bird sanctuary.

Dinner with The Okirings
Then we took the elevator down and walked across the drive to the dining room where we were to have dinner. Beatrice took my hand as we walked across the room to the farthest corner table by the window. I felt all the eyes on us, and I wondered if Beatrice took my hand because she felt it, too. That walk seemed to go on forever, but I felt proud and stood tall with my new friends. Finally we arrived at the table and I sat in between Beatrice and Mom, and the men sat together across from us so they could continue their discussion of politics.

The waitress came and gave us menus and brought bread and butter to the table. When they took our orders, Beatrice kept saying "yes" to every question the waitress asked her. We laughed because it dawned on us that she might not even be understanding all that she was being asked. Jairus assisted her and then requested the Bishop have the same thing that Beatrice ordered. We laughed again at all the food that kept coming to the table as Beatrice had unknowingly ordered a lot of food.

When the entree came, which for them was prime rib, Bishop told us that this one serving of meat on his plate would be enough for a whole family. They would each get a bite or two, along with greens and corn maize, if they were lucky enough to have meat at all.

A typical day for the orphans
I asked Beatrice about a typical day for an orphan. She said if it's not a school day they get up and do work at their house. Then when they are done with that they go to others houses to ask if any work needs to be done in exchange for food or money. Then they go home and if they live in a hut and must cook on an open fire, they must be done with that before it gets dark. If it's a Sunday, they go to church after they have finished their work at home.

The orphans in Kenya with their caregivers.

Beatrice went on to tell me the dangers for girls in the villages. She said there is a lot of rape and the girls must be taught to always walk together in two's or three's so that if someone attacks one, the others can run for help. I would have thought being in pairs would make it so they would not get raped, but that is not so.

Beatrice also told me that some men believe that if they have AIDS they can get rid of it by having sex with a girl who does not have AIDS. So they rape girls of any age, even their own babies, and sometimes rape them to death. Beatrice had mentioned that many are not educated about the disease and that is a large part of the battle. Back at the presentation she told us that some tribes circumcise boys, and girls, using the same knife for each. Rituals such as this continue to spread the disease at an alarming rate.

I asked Beatrice if their house had electricity and water, and she said yes, they even have a bathroom! But right next door are straw huts where people live. Often children live alone as their parents have both died of AIDS. One of the jobs they must do weekly is to spread cow dung all over the floor of their hut to keep the chiggers from coming up and biting them all over. I don't know which would be worse! Cow dung all over the floor or chigger bites!?!?!

Bishop and Beatrice have 7 orphans who live with them in their house. Many of the other orphans are cared for by guardians in other houses or huts. The guardians come together monthly to discuss what their needs are, and Bishop and Beatrice try to take care of as much as they can through the church before, and now through DEMCO.

In the presentation there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on sending the bright boys off to college, so at dinner I asked Beatrice if the girls ever have the chance to go? She said yes they do, it all depends on if they show that "brightness" they are looking for as it costs money to send them to high school. If not, their education ends at grade 8, for boys and girls alike.

Coffee, dessert, and Oprah
Back to the dinner, after dinner the waitress brought around the cart filled with desserts. There must have been 50 plates of desserts on that cart. Beatrice could not believe the abundance. Jairus chose flan, and so then did the Bishop. Beatrice elbowed me and said "look at Bishop's face". We looked and as he took his first bite his face twisted in all directions. He had never had it before and he really liked it. His facial expression showed how he felt about the flan with every single bite. Beatrice and I laughed and laughed.

Beatrice ordered coffee. She was asked, decaf or regular. She replied, what is that? Jairus told us that the way they make coffee is they get the beans, roast and grind them themselves, and boil them in a pot of water. He said it is very very strong. They do not have decaf and had never heard of it before.

At some point we talked about what Oprah has done, building the all African girls school in South Africa for 41 million dollars. We discussed what a wonderful thing it is she is doing and some of the controversy that surrounds it here in America. Jairus explained to us that when Oprah was asked "why don't you help the children in this country that way?" she replied, when you ask a child in Africa "what do you want" they reply "a uniform so I can go to school, tuition, a pencil", and in America the same question is answered with "an ipod, $125 tennis shoes, and XBox 360". I think that says it all.

Saying goodbye to my new friends
We were the last to leave the dining room. We had such a great time together. As we walked to their car Beatrice held my hand. She said they might return in December, but Jairus is moving to Orlando next month so we would have to visit them there next time. Beatrice said she has a new father here in Naples, referring to my Dad, and hopes to visit again soon. We all hugged and kissed each other goodbye. It was bittersweet, as we are glad to be new friends, but sad to say goodbye.

My heart is filled with so much love and joy when I think of the Okirings. I hope I can visit them in Kenya one day soon.

With Much Love,
Meeshka

For more information about donating to DEMCO please email me at:
meeshka@meeshka.net

or shop online to support DEMCO at:
14 COWS
50% of profits are donated directly to DEMCO