Total Orphans – by Milton Jones
What is the difference in a partial and a total orphan? It’s sad that we have to use those designations.
David Marangach contacted me today to tell me that we have two new total orphans at our CRF school on Mt. Elgon in Kenya called Milton Simotweet. Caleb Kiplangat and Rehema Churtolin, brother and sister, had their dad die. They had already had their mom violently die, and now the second parent was gone, making them total orphans.
“It was a dark morning!” David declared. “The air was filled with cries and prayers.” Caleb and Rehema lost their only living parent on that day as some unknown people attacked them and shot them to death. If this were not bad enough, the assailants decapitated their father and the other victims. And it happened right by our school.
This area is a violent one. Most of CRF’s hundreds of children here have been orphaned by wars. It appears the SLDF (Sabaot Land Defense Force), a rebel army that was responsible for the war that created the many orphans that we have on Mt. Elgon is back. Rehema and Caleb aren’t the only ones who have seen their parents murdered. Kids in this place have not only been left without parents but also food, shelter, and a means to take care of themselves. Without CRF they wouldn’t be getting an education, meals, or a place to stay. CRF has also provided psychological counsel to the children to help them with their grief over the atrocities they have seen.
I’m thankful for our donors who have sponsored so many of them. I’m also grateful for those of you who have built dorms for them. We still need new dorms, and many children aren’t sponsored currently.
Seeing this picture of Caleb and Rehema smiling brings tears to my eyes. This picture with David was taken earlier that day before they knew the tragic news of their dad. I can’t imagine how much changed in their countenance, emotional makeup and total life when they heard the news.
Pray for them. We still don’t know for sure who committed the murders or why. We think it had to do with the army. Helicopters are flying over our site. People on the mountain are fleeing. Indeed, this leaves a lot of uncertainty and fear on the mountain. Our CRF works there have heightened security and are doing everything possible to protect the children. But we still need your prayers.
David said, “Thank you for building this school. Otherwise, they would have no one else to take care of them.”
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