Another Kenyan living in the US dies of coronavirus

Another Kenyan national living in the United States has died of the novel coronavirus.

Dr Maurice Ojwang from Kisumu County, who recently celebrated his 30 years’ stay in America, died on Tuesday, April 21, in New York after being hospitalised for two weeks at the Riverside Hospital.

Dr Ojwang, a father of two, had a Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Computer Science from City University of New York, and a Doctorate degree in Management Information Systems from K-Western University.

He was also an adjunct professor of Math and Computer Science at New Rochelle College in New York and a director at the Tender Hearts Foundation, US.

Ojwang was also the proprietor of Maurice Ojwang Unique Academy in Nyakach Sub-County, Kisumu.

The staunch Seventh Day Adventist faithful visited Kenya twice last year, where he attended the fundraising of Victory SDA Church and also condoled with the family of a pupil at his school who died in an accident.

Dr Ojwang’s elder brother, Tobias Ojwang, on Tuesday mourned his Late sibling.

“My world is gone. I have lost a son, a biological brother, a scientist, an elder, an international evangelist, an educationist and philanthropic par excellence,” he said.

By Tuesday, details about his burial had not been finalised.

Currently, New York is burying some of its dead in a mass grave in Hart Island. Unlike in the past, such burials were for people with no known next-of-kin or for families who could not afford a funeral.

Early March, Dr Ojwang -- a resident of Yonkers, New York -- took to social media platform Facebook to reminisce back when he left Kenya for the US some 30 years ago. He narrated nostalgically the challenges he had and how he met his wife, just before he left the country in March, 1990.

“I had planned for 4 months to leave Kenya for further studies and now was the time. I had overcome, at least I thought, all the obstacles. Convincing my parents and siblings was the hardest thing; thanks to my dad who finally bowed to my pressure,” he wrote.

Later on March 27, Dr Ojwang wrote: “It’s a tough spring as we fight COVID-19, but at least Winter is over! Please stay home to keep us safe and we’ll be together again later.”

In the course of his duty, Dr Ojwang got infected and on April 2, he texted a friend in Kenya: “I caught the COVID-19, and I’m only holding onto God’s hands. Please pray that I survive it.”

Dr Ojwang, who left for the US in March 1990 for further studies, in March 2020 gave a detailed narration of the journey abroad which he said was then a preserve of the elite families.

“I could barely raise airfare, not to mention the school fees to study abroad. I was going by faith in the God I had served. I was determined,” he wrote.

Ojwang said the urge to help his family out of poverty was overwhelming and beyond control, and he was ready to die trying.

He had -- in late 1980s -- been admitted to a national school but the parents could not afford the fees. After college, he was employed by the now-defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation but he said the salary could not help much as he had many siblings in school.

“I was ready to make any sacrifice to change the status quo, I dreamt of a day when our children wouldn’t experience staying out of school because of fees, a day when my family would not go hungry for lack of meals, I still dreamt that it was possible to be able to contribute to the well-being of the community that nurtured me -- if only I would overcome the hurdles,” he wrote.

Around that time, he met his wife and he said instead of talking marriage, he shared his burden and dreams with her.

“She supported me, willing to wait till I complete studies abroad and come back. I gave my promise and kept it. I took her home to meet my people just before I left the country,” he wrote.

“With no social media, and letters taking about 3 months to get response, all relationships were left in the hands of God and trust... My God came through and I’m forever grateful, and that’s why I serve Him,” Ojwang wrote.

The media in the US this week reported that New York was temporarily freezing the bodies of some of the COVID-19 victims instead of burying them on Hart Island to reduce strain on hospitals and funeral homes with dwindling space to preserve the dead.

Freezing bodies will also give families and funeral directors more time to make arrangements, as well as alleviate pressure for staffing and resources like stretchers in hospitals and morgues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the vital rituals that help families grieve, for fear of spreading it further, making such deaths rather traumatic.

The virus has caused untold suffering to the families of the victims. The sick cannot be visited as the risk of contagion is too high.

“COVID-19 kills twice. First, it isolates you from your immediate family right before you die. Then it does not allow members to conduct a dignified burial to get closure,” said a relative.