2023/2024
Collection 19

The Village Hospital

c. 1995–2007; Lwala, Kenya; North Andover, Massachusetts, and Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

Sometimes life can be very unfair. You never know what’s coming your way, yet it all depends on how you handle the challenges that are presented to you. Take my dad for instance: He has endured a complicated life.

My father grew up in a rural village in Kenya, Africa, with no running water, electricity, or health care. He watched helplessly as neighbors passed away because there were no hospitals nearby. Because of this, my father made it his dream to become a doctor and assist his disheartened community. Once he graduated from primary school, he was chosen to attend a prestigious boarding school on the outskirts of Nairobi called Alliance High School.

In his second year at Alliance High School, my dad was chosen to participate in an exchange program with a coeducational boarding school called Brooks School, in North Andover, Massachusetts, in the United States. Some American students would come to Kenya, and some Kenyan students would go to North Andover, Massachusetts. Even though my father was sixteen, he’d never been on a plane before, so flying to the United States was a big opportunity for him. When he got to Brooks School, he was fascinated by how different the United States was from Kenya. Every amazing discovery encouraged him to return to America for college.

My dad applied to many colleges, but he failed to be accepted because the mail system was slow in Kenya, so his applications were late. The following year he applied earlier and was accepted into Dartmouth College with an international scholarship. Unfortunately my dad’s parents couldn’t afford the expensive plane ticket to Boston. When my father’s village heard about this, they decided to help! They sold their cows, goats, chickens, and sheep to buy him a ticket. Once they raised enough money and my dad was about to depart, the villagers pulled him aside and said, “Once you go to America, please don’t forget us. Remember to come back and help!”

So my dad went to America and studied hard. He was in his last trimester at Dartmouth, getting ready to graduate, when he received tragic news from home: His mother had fallen ill and had passed away. This wounded his entire family. That was the moment my father decided to build a hospital in his village to keep the other kids from losing their parents and becoming orphans.

He worked on the project with his father. Yet, when it was almost time to unveil the new hospital, his father became ill and passed away as well. This was terrible news for my dad’s whole family, because they had lost both of their parents. Despite the appalling information, my dad found ways to continue the preparations.

Finally they had raised enough money, and on April 2, 2007, the hospital was officially opened. The people of the village were grateful for what my dad had done for them. He had learned that persistence and perseverance pay off. He was proud that he’d made a difference in his village, even when it had felt impossible.

Ma’lee Ochieng; Missouri, USA

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