Baringo man who ditched KDF to pursue the American dream, but...

By Jeremiah Chamakany, Independent Reporters-Kenya

It is a story of many regrets but one full of hope. The pursuit of education is a universal human need, for it guarantees a future worth waiting for.

With a good education, anyone can have the potential of leaving the world a better place than he or she found it.

Such positive thinking sometimes fails to materialize, as narrated by Mr. Joel Kipkoech, a Kenyan born in Baringo County in the year 1951.

Independent Reporters Kenya team caught up with him at Kabiyet Village in Koibatek Sub-county, Rift Valley shortly after getting wind that an old man armed with three university degrees is perennially giving out some very helpful public lectures, and for free.

Many people call him "American Man" in honor of his sojourn in the land of good promises and the fact that he did leave behind his Black American wife and three beautiful daughters.

Perhaps, just like Obama himself, the girls will one day come visiting Kenya after breaking world records in athletics and leadership never seen before.

According to him, the most beautiful thing about the United States of America is not necessarily her best education system and military might, but her concern for the welfare of her most vulnerable citizenry, and especially her homeless populations. When it’s very cold in America, the authorities do not rest.

Not until all the homeless people have been rounded up from under the tunnels where they live and herded into some homes where they are taken care of until the harsh weather season is gone.

They really value their people. He was busy carrying out some manual work at some compound where he is employed to work as a caretaker.

After finding out about the agenda of our mission, he was not at all surprised, having gotten used to retelling the story about his personal experiences to the many people around him, and especially the youth who harbor the dreams to fly out some day to the land of good opportunities.

He decided to take us all the way back to his childhood, a small village called Kipng’orom, where he was born a firstborn son in a very blessed family.

 ‘’I went to Sirwa Primary School, where I sat my class seven examinations and emerged the second best with an overall of 26 points in the year 1968,’’ he started the story.

Because of his good performance, he did secure a form one placement at the present-day Kabarnet Boys High School.

Unfortunately, though, he was not able to report to the school because it was noted that his examination results slip had an error.

His vacancy was given to someone else. He went ahead and got himself some employment at the nearby Emining trading center, earning himself ‘a cool salary‘ of thirty shillings per month. ‘

’Thirty shillings was a lot of money during those days,’’ the old man reminisced.

The desire to make more money saw him travel all the way to Uasin Gishu County, where a Luo contractor employed him to peel wattle trees at some area known as Kapng’etuny.

When translated into English, Kapng’etuny is a Kalenjin name which means ‘’Jungle full of Lions.’’ It’s not far from Baringo County.

The wattle tree barks were used to manufacture shoe polish somewhere around Eldoret, deep in the heart of the former Rift Valley province.

While working at Kapng’etuny, he befriended a girl from the Keiyo community, and in no time, he did ‘’accidentally’’ put her in a family way.

He cunningly left the lass because, according to his own recollection, parental responsibilities had not yet crossed his mind.

That was in the year 1970. Back home and with KSH 300 savings in his pockets, he bought a new school uniform before approaching his father and floated the idea of him going back to school and retaking the class seven examination.

His father bought the idea and presented his request to the headmaster. His father had then left the whole family at Kipng’rom in order to practice cultivation at the then newly established scheme within Koibatek.

At Eldama Ravine Mission Primary School, he was able to score 36 out of the 36 points, earning himself an express admission to the prestigious Alliance Boys High School in Nairobi in the year 1972.

‘’I was full of ambition and wanted to conquer the world after joining Alliance High School,’’ said the old man.

At Alliance High School, he was joined by Dr. Edward Sambili, former principal secretary in charge of National Planning and Vision 2030. ‘’Dr. Sambili was my junior at Alliance,’’ said the beaming graduate who left Alliance in the year 1975.

He was very good in athletics and always emerged on top alongside a fellow called Mark Sang from Nandi County.

Sang later went ahead to further his studies at a university in Wisconsin, in the United States of America. ‘

’This Mark Sang is the guy who facilitated my scholarship to the United States because he knew I was very good in athletics.

Communication was very poor during those days; it was difficult for me to get in touch with my friend at Wisconsin about the possibility of me getting a scholarship.

I opted to join the Kenya Military Cadets at Nakuru, together with the now Lieutenant General Joseph Kiptoo Kasaon.

My training lasted for three months only. My instincts told me I did not belong in the military.

I kept on picturing myself somewhere in a foreign university.

The rigid military program locked me away from filling out my scholarship application forms; my friend had promised to send them to me through the post office.

I courageously approached Captain Soi and asked him to grant me permission to rush home.

He obliged, and once at Eldama Ravine, I went in search of the postmaster because I wanted the keys to access the letterbox at the Eldama Ravine post office.

As sure as death, my scholarship application forms were there waiting for me to fill out.

I said goodbye to the cadet military training and started the process of filling out the forms, ready to fly out of Africa! I was already set to join Texas Tech University, a school with a population of 23,000 students from all around the world.

The Kenya Republic was very good those days. There was no demand for bribes, as is now customary in the immigration department and other government agencies.

I got a small hitch at the ministry of education because a certain officer declined to sign my forms, claiming that the United States of America was a dangerous place for young people to go and study. ‘

’He wants to shatter my dreams!’’ an alarm rang in my head. Everybody is dying to get an American education, and someone here is trying to prevent me. This is pure jealousy!’’ so went a silent conversation inside my mind.

I silently walked out of his office and managed to think very quickly. Through some trusted associates, I was able to trace the former Baringo South Member of Parliament Honorable Edward Kiptanui.

He surely intervened. He cunningly wrote a letter to the education official at Jogoo House, making it look like the then Vice President Daniel arap Moi was sponsoring me to get some American education…. ‘

’Why are you getting in the way of the Vice president?’’ The MP posed the question to the education official, who, with trembling hands, went ahead to stamp my letters and asked me to get back to him should I require any other assistance.

But maybe he was a prophet; you are yet to find out why I ended up returning to Kenya very unceremoniously, 19 years after leaving my sweet motherland… There was a guy from Baringo County who worked in the Immigration Department, and he played a bigger role in assisting me in putting together all my travel documents.

His name was James Chirchir, from around the Sirwa location. With my documents intact and having also gotten a medical clearance form, now came the bigger challenge to overcome: purchase of an air ticket!

My father was not going to afford the Ksh6,500.00 then required for the ticket. I was expected to have the air ticket before thinking about the visa application.

Time was running out, bearing in mind that it was already August, yet I was required to report to school in September 1976.

Without wasting time, I again approached Honorable Edward Kiptanui for monetary assistance.

He promised to inform the vice president about my situation, and as was his custom and love for education, Vice President Moi did not hesitate to get into his pocket and fished out Ksh 10,000.

On January 15, 1977, I caught my flight from Jomo Kenyatta Airport with my first stop at London, New York, Dallas, and then Texas, where I was able to study agricultural economics, psychology, and political science. [To be continued] jeremiahchamakany@gmail.com