LIFE'S VALUE

Recently on the April 30, 2013, I buried my grandfather Mzee Dan Jared Okuku Ondiegi (Danjo). He took a bow after living 86 years of life albeit with the last one being bedridden after suffering a stroke that paralysed his right side. But this is the one person who I managed to see his last 32 years of life for he literally shaped my life since he was the father I knew in my entire life. In 1992 December, at the age of 11 years when I still might have not understood the value of life, I lost my dad Joseph Olal Adiema. Even though I was not staying with him due to the tumultuous marriage he had,  but I could see the overbearing grief in the eyes of my mother Peninah Atieno Olal; a 36 year old young woman and an even younger co-wife Mary Akeyo Olal who had been thrown into the hands of widowhood at tender ages.

The pangs of this loss were later to have full effect on the family stability and my siblings too long to gain their foothold in what happens to them. All this time, I was cushioned from this pang coz of the only dad I knew; my grand dad; Mzee Danjo. At later stages of my life, I lost my 21 year old brother Gideon Ajode in 2000 to road accident and 2 years later, my grandmother Wilkister Mado. With this, death became a reaper whose actions I was abreast with. 

Then I went to Uganda Christian University by the invite of one; Evennah Wafula in 2008 and there I was taught life in diversity. For the 4 years of my life in a foreign land, I developed a family and life blessed me with brothers who were very close to me; Eddie Oketcho, Kasozi Fahad, Kagimu Kagimu Clapton, Mukisa FM Francis and of because the ladies with whom I shared my personal moments like Brendah Coxy, Joan Mati from the Honours College fraternity, Racheal Yiba, Namitala Esther, Natalie Akineza who were my classmates amongst others; then at the later special stages,the love of my life Scarlet Chemarum Chebet.

Fahad in the course of my 3^rd Semester of school life became my roommate in Florence Hall and this is when the term being a brother’s keeper made sense to me. We shared so much, laughed through the nite…I vividly remember how he would go to the fountain the record the croaking frogs then make the very same his ring tone. In the wee hours of the morning, his "croaking phone" would awaken me before it did him coz he was a deep sleeper. I would ask in irritation “ Who in his right sense would record croaking frogs as ringtone”? He would simply smile and tell me “Joe enjoy life while it still lasts”.

A year later we had another stint as neighbours in Rachel Hall…I remember nostalgically the traffic of   friends who visited the hall that Semester. And before long, his stint as a student was over. When he graduated, Fahad was the Top Best overall student in UCU. Eddie and me had to break protocol just to cover his moment and capture his glorious day. And we actually did. Then the three of us Eddie, Fahad and me…later joined by Scarlet celebrated his day with his family in Kayunga road. His friendship never wavered and when JoeKlein came along, regardless of the circumstance, he stood-by me and Scarlet. 

Almost a year after his graduation, a phone call came through informing us of his bodaboda accident. I called Eddie and together with Irene Kisakye along we went to the ICU room in Mulago Referral Hospital to check him…only to find a soul so much in pain and so deformed……(to be continued)