COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 20, 2016
3A
Kenyan native tells his remarkable story
Gordon Okumu
recently approached the
Sentinel about
volunteer opportunities
in writing, photogra-
phy and design. First,
though, he offers the
tale of how he came
to fi nd himself on the
other side of the world:
A stranger in
your midst
BY GORDON OKUMU
For the Sentinel
T
here is this stranger in
your midst, someone
you might have met at the Trin-
ity Lutheran Church serving
during the Community Sup-
per program or at the Cottage
Grove Public Library. You may
have met him attending a 912
Project meeting or simply seen
him cycling around the City,
and you wonder who this com-
mon but unfamiliar face is.
My name is Gordon Okumu.
I am a Kenyan Citizen; I was
born in 1986 in Migori, a small
town in western Kenya.
When I was six months old,
my father, a taxi driver, died in
an auto collision, leaving me to
be brought up by my mother, a
single parent.
In early 1990, my mother and
I moved to Nairobi (Kenya’s
Capital). She was employed as
a domestic servant and we set-
tled in one of the slums in the
outskirts of Nairobi. I was eight
months old.
When I was 14, in my last
year of primary school, my
mother died of typhoid fever.
A Catholic priest took pity on
me and provided my school
fees through high school. I
worked nights as a watchman
and weekends as a gardener
to pay for schoolbooks, school
supplies, clothing and food.
After completing high school
in 2005, I earned high scores on
the national high school exams,
landing a job as an untrained
teacher in a Catholic girls’ high
school in Nairobi. While work-
ing there, I became interested
in becoming a Roman Catholic
priest.
In 2008, I joined the Society
of Jesus (Jesuits) and entered
the novitiate in Tanzania to pre-
pare for priesthood. However,
in 2010, I realized it was not
my calling to become a Jesuit
priest, and I petitioned for re-
lease from the Society. I was
allowed to leave and went back
to Nairobi.
While still with the Jesuits,
I had established contact with
Chaplain Jonathan Landon
– who was then on active duty
in the US Army – and learned
about the International Com-
munion of the Charismatic
Episcopal Church (CEC).
When I left the Jesuit novitiate,
I joined a CEC congregation in
Nairobi. I was an active partic-
ipant in that congregation, tak-
ing on several volunteer service
projects.
The African College Edu-
cation Fund, a ministry of the
CEC, offered me a scholarship
that covered all education and
living expenses and enabled
me to obtain a diploma in mass
communication with majors in
public relations and advertis-
ing (which is roughly equiva-
lent to an Associate’s degree in
Cottage Grove again named
Tree City, USA for 2015
Tree dept., care ordinance and forestry budget help meet requirement
C
ottage Grove was named
a 2015 Tree City USA
by the Arbor Day Foundation
in honor of its commitment to
effective urban forest manage-
ment.
Started in 1976, the Tree City
USA program, sponsored by
the Arbor Day Foundation, in
partnership with the U.S. For-
est Service and the National As-
sociation of State Foresters, is
celebrating its 40th anniversary
this year.
Cottage Grove achieved Tree
City USA recognition by meet-
ing the program’s four require-
ments: A tree board or depart-
ment, a tree-care ordinance, an
annual community forestry bud-
get of at least $2 per capita and
an Arbor Day observance and
proclamation.
“Tree City USA communities
see the impact an urban forest
has in a community fi rst hand,”
said Dan Lambe, President of
the Arbor Day Foundation. “Ad-
ditionally, recognition brings
residents together and creates
a sense of community pride,
whether it’s through volunteer
engagement or public educa-
tion.”
Trees provide multiple bene-
fi ts to a community when prop-
erly planted and maintained.
They help to improve the visual
appeal of a neighborhood, in-
crease property values, reduce
home cooling costs, remove air
pollutants and provide wildlife
habitat, among many other ben-
efi ts.
More information on the pro-
gram is available at arborday.
org/TreeCityUSA.
The Arbor Day Foundation
is a million-member nonprofi t
conservation and education or-
ganization with the mission to
inspire people to plant, nurture
and celebrate trees. More infor-
mation is available at arborday.
org.
America).
While at the University, I was
elected a student leader in the
university student government,
and I developed a strong inter-
est in politics. I formed an am-
bition to run for the position of
Member of Parliament for Suna
West Constituency in Migori
County (my hometown), and
spoke publicly of my intentions
to obtain offi ce and lead a de-
termined opposition to tribal-
ism, nepotism and corruption
in government, which is ram-
pant in Kenya.
After my fi rst visit to the US
in September, 2015, as a free-
lance journalist covering the
Papal visit to the World Meeting
of Families in Philadelphia, my
political opponents appeared
to have the idea that I had for-
eign support for my campaign
and was pursuing power for the
benefi t of U.S. interests. As a
result, my life has been threat-
ened, I have been assaulted and
robbed, and there have been
two attempts to poison me.
My visa remained in effect,
so I returned to the U.S. and
have submitted an application
for political asylum. How-
ever, I have not abandoned the
Kennedy
students
robbed while
working
A
group of high-
school
students
experienced a sour end to
their work week when they
discovered that their bus
had been burglarized as
they worked.
Matt Hall, Kennedy High
School instructor and head
of the Kennedy Conserva-
tion Corps, which offers
job experience to students
for
conservation-related
programs, said that he and
a student work crew had
parked at the weigh station
on the southeast edge of
Cottage Grove while they
courtesy photo
Okumu has already made himself known in Cottage
Grove in a short time here through his volunteerism.
hope of returning to Kenya as
an activist working for positive
change in the government of
my country.
While in the U.S., I am living
with the Landons and currently
volunteering at Trinity Luther-
an Church in the Community
Supper program, at the Cottage
prepared the pollinator gar-
den under construction at
nearby Row River Nature
Park for planting on Friday,
April 8.
The day was a hot one,
Hall said, so he left the
windows on the bus open.
Upon return, Hall said that
three backpacks and a fi re-
fi ghter-style hard hat were
discovered missing. One
student was found to be
missing the driver’s permit
and house keys that were in
his backpack; another was
missing a case contain-
ing about 20 CDs, while
another had an “expensive
hoodie” and wallet stolen.
“It was my bad for not
closing the windows,” Hall
said. “It was one of those
learning moments for me,
for sure, and I felt really
bad for them. It was a bad
end to a really great day.”
Grove Public Library and now
the Cottage Grove Sentinel.
I consider my volunteer
service to be an offering of
thanksgiving in response for
God’s salvation and provision
and also an opportunity to get
to know more about my new
home, Cottage Grove!
Seniors gear
up for Lion
King pageant
C
ottage Grove High School will
host its 22nd annual Lion King
pageant on Saturday, April 30 at 7 pm
at the high school Cafetorium.
The event includes dances, skits
and lots of laughter. This annual
fundraiser supports Children’s Mir-
acle Network, where all proceeds
go to Riverbend Hospital’s Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit and the Pediatric
Unit.
Over the years, organizers say
CGHS has raised nearly $250,000 for
CMN. This year’s contestants are:
Nico Cornelius, Justin Epperson, Eli-
jah Foreman, Brad Geisler, Brandon
Hughes, Kendrick Murphy, Payton
Presley and Jayden Tucker.
Tickets are sold at the door for
$10. They may be bought at the high
school next week or are available at
the door for the same price.
Enter to win 4 tickets to
WILDLIFE SAFARI.*
Enjoy the made-from-
scratch quality and fl avor of
our creative menu.
Menu Offerings
Surf & Turf, New York Steak, Top Sirloin,
Beef Stroganoff, Hazelnut Encrusted Pork
Loin, Chicken Marsala Chicken Picatta, Crab-
Stuffed Rainbow Trout, Grilled Salmon,
Mushroom Ragout, Shrimp Penne Pasta,
Cajun Chicken Penne Pasta, Tri-Colored
Cheese Tortellini Pasta, Vegetable Pasta
Looking for
something to
do with the
kids?
Serving Dinner
5-9pm nightly
Reservations Welcome
Prime Rib is back
every Friday!
Buy one entree, get
another 50% off!
Coupon required. Expires May 31, 2016
Must purchase minimum two entrees for discount.
Offer valid for both Early Bird and Dinner menus, 5-9pm, not
valid in the Fireside Lounge. Cannot be combine with any other
offers.
725 Row River Rd.
Cottage Grove, OR
541-942-2491
www.villagegreenresortandgardens.com
Season at the Green Restaurant
at the Village Green Resort
725 Row River Rd. Cottage Grove, OR
541-942-2491
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