The Bright Nights and Drumbeats from Mama Africa: The Bright Nights in the World of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped

By fatha John Patrick Kamau

For years war and at times preventable scenarios have taken life, maimed others, crippled yet others mentally, physically and intellectually, if not spiritually, The T4 program, PTSD and all.... worldwide. For the authors generation, The 1970's brought in cholera, the 1980's brought in the AIDs/HIV scare, and then the unholy beverages, .... not without pioneering conspiracy theories to back them up Mayan.... illuminati conspiracies, Georgia guide stones and all types of fantasy. Would there be any survivors? The 20th century was dominated by ethnic, race, political and religious struggles and conflicts; the 21st century has vastly inherited the problem with a huge shift in attitude and preference, but in all this, what is the future for Persons with Disabilities in a world of alternative lifestyles, eugenics, euthanasia, acclaimed United Nations human rights and conventions? sequel to "The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul" book - (2013) script, the author a recipient of the "Pro Ecclesia" gold medal award from the late Saint Pope John Paul II avails for posterity diaries and points for reflections on cultural and humanitarian perspectives impacting on aspects of existential crisis, search for meaning and purpose for persons with Disabilities deeper into the 21st century. With contributions and insights from Corporate social responsibility initiatives, scholars, clergy, custodians of persons with disabilities, persons who lived in the 19th and 20th century in Africa: Some who served in the American Peace Corps in 1960's Africa, encounters with so called - "natives" and "savages", War Veterans and members of the armed forces, multicultural religious and missionary icons, contemporary peace and outreach initiatives from international religious, secular and political leaders: Towards this end, a case study paper in the United States on a Disabilities outreach project in Africa is availed in Six language translations, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English and the Luo and kikuyu African Languages to hopefully stimulate further multicultural reflections and action in the diaspora communities towards persons with disabilities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499070460

fatha John Patrick Kamau

The Author, a recipient of the Pro ecclesia Et Pontifice Gold medal award from Pope John Paul 11, a ceremonially installed African Elder, a Knight in a western order, a Member and affiliate of various International Service and Charitable Organizations was born in 1957 at the height of the Maumau war in Kenya East Africa. As a young boy he listened to fireside stories from grandparents born into a family that constituted traditional Shamans and Warriors and supra polygamous cultures in Africa before the coming of the missionaries in the 19th and 20th century. He is professionally trained in logistics, Marketing and Governance, and Medical disciplines and was instrumental alongside the Last Of the Consolata Missionaries, Secular and faith based organizations, people of diverse cultures, fraternities and sororities in establishing a school for rehabilitation of mentally handicapped Children in Africa in a culture where such children used to be terminated at birth. Such children were associated with family misfortunes, omens, spells, sorcery, witchcraft, the occult and demonic forces. He founded the Friends Of Allamano Special School for disseminating and sharing knowledge and information on Physical and Intellectual Disabilities and undertook studies in esoteric metaphysical subjects to gain deeper insights that would help in promoting disability outreaches beyond the belief in traditional practices based only on superstition and devoid of an amalgam of medical or scientific and cultural study perspectives. THE Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul highlights some of the challenges faced in such traditional family cultures and in starting and managing such disability outreach projects, aspects of CSR, Faith and Governance and some of the coping mechanisms for those involved, during the DARK NIGHTS and BRIGHT moments along the way: Which for the author included stints in New Age movements and esoteric disciplines as he sought to understand their role in advancing various human disability perspectives. WWW.FriendsOfAllamano.Org

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Copyright © 2014 by Fatha John Patrick Kamau.

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Rev. date: 02/05/2015

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CONTENTS

Preamble

Acknowledgements

Introduction:-

Prologue- By Deborah Childress

An Interfaith Dialogue And Interaction

Connecting The Dots: Linking The Old And The New

The Dilemma And Quest

Unfinished Bussiness: A Tribute

The Missionary Challenge A Perspective

A Tribute

As We Face Tomorrow Today

20Th Century Africa

A Journey Begins

A Perspective Of Africa, Disabilities And Life

Epilogue: The Bright Nights Of The Soul

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and Drumbeats from Mama Africa

CREATING FORUMS FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

A Reflection and Sequel to The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul

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From The VATICAN to The Americas -Drumbeats from Mama Africa

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PERSPECTIVES OF A SUCCESS STORY IN THE 21st CENTURY WORLD OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS IN THE WORLD OF THE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

CONNECTING THE DOTS

CONNECTING THE DOTS and MAN’S APPOINTMENTS WITH DESTINY:-THE REAR VIEW MIRROR SCENARIO and THE BRIGHT NIGHTS Addressing our fears and-: CROSSING THE RUBICON- river of the disabilities world.

You cannot connect the dots looking forward…*death is perhaps the…greatest creation… proclaimed the computer guru and founder of Apple Computers in the year 2005 during a commencement speech at Stanford University in the United States. Implying perhaps that at one point in life one needs to slow down and stop moving forward, turn around and face the past footsteps and mile markers in one’s life and come to terms with destiny, and see how each point or season linked up with our present position in life’s current season, even as we charted our way forward. Legend has it that anyone daring to cross the Rubicon must at a point in life face this fact as one crosses the point of no return. Could it be that daring to address a broad spectrum of what are today considered Disabilities that run beyond what were once accepted as mental and physical disabilities is just such an act in the 21st century? Without a Julius Caesar to tell of his rationale in 49 BC on crossing the Rubicon river of disabilities with us in the 21st century, it is a dilemma that poses the billion dollar question. A visit to the Georgia guide stones in the year 2013 brought this matter to surface once more after they were cited in The Bright dark Nights of the Soul book. Perhaps after all the world had told us about conspiracy theories, the architects of these stones had some very valid points, and perhaps not: but they raised points in 8-eight languages worth reflecting on, on that 22nd of March 1980 when they commissioned them under the umbrella of one mysterious R.C. Christian…*and perhaps revisited them as recently as September of year 2014…if media reports and postings on social media and You Tube are to be believed-adding a missing cornerstone portion complete with conspiracy theory riddles.

Is it perhaps time for mankind, to remove our veil of interiorized blindness and revisit the world of empathy?

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The Georgia Guidestones monument(AKA American Stonehenge) in Elberton GA on a rainy day in 2013. Photo by D.no Joanni .

There was a time in the past when man’s greatest fear in the jungles’ of Africa and the rest of the world was an encounter with the spiders, snakes and beasts of the wild:- and mostly, the big five-the Lions, Elephants, the Rhinos, the leopard and worst of all the lone rough rogue buffalo still considered very dangerous, but-NOT ANYMORE:-today man has tamed all these and many more, having domesticated them as pets alongside others, if not confined them to artificially created boundaries. Many long to visit the wild and untamed Africa’s savage wild*-BUT does the mythical world of Tarzan’s wild jungles and animals and grasslands still exist? One now late Wangari Maathai (*RIP-2012)-the environmental humming bird and Nobel Prize winner is perhaps best placed to answer that question. Man has created symbols and symbolism and fresh meaning from the animals and forests and conducted deep insightful studies and observations on most if not all of them and brought new meanings and understanding-but has man taken time off to understand self and fellow man? Has man evolved a culture of empathy and mutual coexistence with man? Is it too late in the night or do we have signs of a bright morning sun light on the eastern horizon?

We fear that which we do not know or understand-:The human mind, soul and spirit, and the relationship with our thoughts, words, actions, physical bodies, ecological systems cultural conflicts, race, politics, economic factors –and perhaps spirituality and blindness, -not to add our churches and governments- and with that ultimate point of contact with Divine destiny and the ultimate EXIT sign. And what about that encounter with the mythical Red strangers, missionaries and native savages…in past centuries and with Philanthropic charities, International world organizations and faith based organizations of the 20th and into the 21st century…are they a solution and a blessing to all to give us moments of introspection and reflection? PERHAPS: for as above so below. This is perhaps the broad theme behind this script and diary titled-: THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA and reflections therein after THE BRIGHT DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL in the world of Persons with Disabilities and what it means living in exile or in the diaspora- one day at a time- in what is said to be one of the world’s most secured nation. An attempt to take time off and look within ourselves on a road least travelled at the point of interacting or contact with our mutual and shared appointments with destiny and our temporary environments in the Bright dark nights and bright daylight moments in the diverse seasons of human life. Perhaps no better icon of the 20th and 21st century could sum this theme better than the late president and Nobel prize recipient from South Africa Nelson Mandela –Mandiba-:- Let me restate the obvious: I have long passed my teens; and the distance to my final destination is shorter than the road I have trudged over the years! What nature has decreed should not generate undue insecurity, Mandela said. …As for the wild rumors about my health, there is little that is new. When we were on Robben Island, enemies of democracy concocted stories that I once had died and, at another time, was ‘busy dying,’ –The fact is that on December 5 th 2013 Nelson Mandela signed off@95 years. And the world listened and mourned his passing . Kenya and the United States of America, have historically had an intertwined destiny. But so too with the rest of the world of the former British Empire in the common-wealth and the United Nations of the World, and recent events in the United States President Barack Obama and various American leaders meeting with African leaders and heads of state in August 2014 at the white house and with world leaders at the United nations in September 2014 affirm an even greater need for peaceful coexistence irrespective of our diverse disabilities if not because of them, and Persons with disabilities perhaps provide a forum for such an avenue. Is this perhaps what the founders of the Bill and Melinda gates Foundation meant during yet another key commencement speech at Stanford University in year 2014 when they spoke of blindness and empathy after Bill gates the Microsoft computer guru visited South Africa and Melinda visited India –they too like Steve Jobs have very valid points but, will we listen …and go out there and see for ourselves? My visit to Soweto became an early lesson in how naïve I was…. Before I went to Soweto, I thought I understood the world’s problems, but I was blind to the most important ones. I was so taken aback by what I saw that I had to ask myself, Do I still believe that innovation can solve the world’s toughest problems? http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/june/gates-commencement-remarks-061514.html"

…children with intellectual and mental disabilities may not have the articulation to narrate their experiences and the encounters even after …a gold medal award from the now late pope Saint Pope John Paul II but this is A fair opportunity for others to stand up too… for TRUTH suppressed so say the sages of old will rise up again and will in the midnight hours and moments of reflection haunt and purify. So let’s cast our fears- rise and be on our way" though it be late in the evening for the sun will surely rise again tomorrow. AMDG. Monday October 20th 2014- United States Of America-Florida Tuesday, October 21, 2014 -6:00:14 AM D.no Joanni Kamau -DJ-SJ-E-MIstPS-(UK)

THE SPIRITUALITY, POLITICS and ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES OF DISABILITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES

Building Bridges Across Troubled Waters –Die XX Maii MCMXCIX- 20th May 1999.

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DEDICATION-:- A MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS and THE CRUCIBLE NATIONS OF THE WORLD

TO OUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER: Christina Wanjiru Daughter of Muchina and to all Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters Sisters, Aunties, Girls, Nieces and Spouses Worldwide: and to our Mother Christina Wanjiru Daughter of Nguyo AkA Wamuchina

MOTHERS

Mothers and parents have a strange way of protecting their offspring, right from conception, through incubation, hatching or birth, through upbringing and that first crawling or first step… or flight, after which they are left with little option than to

LET GO and LET GOD sometimes even before the first step or flight… such was the case with one Moses in Egypt.

As the 13th of June 2014 passed by the 13th year in the United States of America entered into perspective. Between Africa, Europe and the America’s –Mama Africa and America had shaped the longest time in the adult life of the African Shaman’s great grandson-who had indulged with the mentally and physically handicapped, a journey that ended up into the at times dark world of mysticism, the inquisition and metaphysical and healing disciplines.

BUT, Who Sinned?-This man or his Parents that he was born blind?

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA

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PERSPECTIVES OF A SUCCESS STORY IN THE 21st CENTURY WORLD OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS IN THE WORLD OF THE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

CONNECTING THE DOTS

Special Gratitude TO John Kiongo and ALL Children and Friends Of Allamano Worldwide

THANK YOU Sir John Kiongo, The cerebral palsied ONE for your PRAYERS -WWW.FriendsOfAllamano.Org

And to all MOTHERS and Parents and Friends for their Special Dedication

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Preamble

When on Sunday September 8th 1996 one fatha John survived a near fatal car accident at 200KPH(125 Miles Per hour) an existential and faith crisis was triggered…*WHY did fathajon too survive?asked fatha John…* recalling his 1st near death encounter with one Padre Cesare Facchinello of the Consolata Missionaries in the 1950’s during the mau mau war?Then the 1970’s brought in cholera, the 1980’s brought in the AIDs/HIV scare, and then the unholy beverages, . . . not without pioneering conspiracy theories to back them up Mayan… illuminati conspiracies and all types of fantasy. Would there be any survivors?

And then there was one John Kiongo who was born with cerebral palsy.* . . .2-two years after Padre Fachinello passed ON/away in 1980… But, John Kiongo never spoke a word until he was 6-six, his first words- tata one nindaikara thii nituhoe auntie look at me… see, I can now sit down… let us Pray. What started as an outreach to children with intellectual disabilities evolved to an inquest into esoterica, prophecies and new world order conspiracies, walks through strange environments and a world of strange practices and belief systems that have over the years influenced societies perceptions in dealing with persons with disabilities in both secular, cultural and religious forums. The Malleus Malleficarum Inquistitions and burning on the Stake aside, and Hitler’s T4"-no more than a side dish they were. Among the contemporary interactions were with friends in the Church of Scientology founded by one LRH- Ron Hubbard and one Fr Paul. B. Hogarty who undertook a CoS scholary study in 1976 and passed ON/away in 2012 April 20th in the United States. And there was one Monsignor now late Monsgr. Fr John P Caulfield of Florida, Jesuits in Georgia and Texas and Monks in Florida. But the main script storyline began somewhere on the East coast of Africa in the 15th century and on one June 13th2002 on British Airways:

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A PROMISE TO KEEP- WWW.FriendsOfallamano.org

A great unrepayable debt is owed to a number of individuals who have contributed features, scripts, images and diverse perspectives throughout the process of compiling this work, some of which are included in this book-The Bright Nights and Drumbeats from Mama Africa. Thanks for your cooperation and enthusiasm, without which you would all not be reading this. Special thanks also to the Embassy of the United States and officials of the States and Federal Government and the Department of Homeland Security-DHS/USCIS, for their commendable Professionalism in undertaking and executing various tasks and their duties for the greater good of Society. Also acknowledged are Religious and secular leaders of diverse faith perspectives who availed their time and provided insights on various perspectives that include translations into foreign languages -French, Spanish, Portuguese, Luo, Kikuyu-English and English Versions of an academic doctorate level case study on the impact of a project for rehabilitation of mentally and physically handicapped children in Africa. An inscription on all currency notes and coins summed it all- IN GOD WE TRUST- A.M.D.G.

DEDICATION-:- A MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS and THE CRUCIBLE NATIONS OF THE WORLD

IMAGES THAT TELL A STORY OF THE COUNTRY THE WORLD GETS TO SEE AND KNOW

During the years spent in the United states of America since June 13th 2002, I have seen and witnessed a people in a Nation that takes pride in its accomplishments and image, learned lessons in diversity, and faiths too.

I have interacted in different continents, with the very poor and the very rich, the abled and the very sick and disabled, the aging and the dying, Veterans of world wars-young and old alike,- and the dead too,- "in mortuus- the mentally and physically depraved and deprived: on both spectrums of the pendulum of life. In all these encounters and even in the darkest of nights I have been around a people who despite seeing and knowing the basic ground truth on what could be done better in a free country, and though being at times overly critical of various aspects, still took pride in their Motherland America representing it and portraying it as the Greatest Nation in the world. And the world knows it as such. The World’s Greatest Dream Country."

I had the honor of meeting and conversing at length with many dignitaries Religious and Secular, among them stands out many MOTHERS, and women of great wisdom and insights… I believe that it is possible that our Motherland, even in the darkest night, is still our Motherland and as much as there are issues as in any other household that need attention and improvement, our MOTHER should be treated with respect and seen by all within the pride and dignity that MOTHERS deserve…* . . . The COLD WAR pre 1960’s and 70’s are past but…* . . .: Only when we have the diverse perspectives on an issue or subject can we represent it truthfully and professionally. We are all naked at times in our life but do we have to parade our nakedness in public? It helps to know and realize when we are naked, whilst we come to a point where our children speak truthfully and tell us that we represent the proverbial THE KING IS NAKED when all others are singing praise around us. For the better part of the 21st Century, it was the United States that Mothered us and catered for us even in the darkest of Nights. The United States opened up unprecedented avenues for hospitality and deeper insights on the challenges and opportunities in disabilities outreach initiatives and provided the forums for reflection and writing on this subject ultimately the books:The Bright Dark Nights of The Soul (2013). And, a sequel to the same-THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA in 2014. With much gratitude. Sir John Warui -:–DJ-SJ-E.

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Introduction:-

CREATING FORUMS FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

The news clip was brief- The Pope had issued the invitations on his recent trip to the Holy Land in late May 2014. The presidents quickly accepted the invitation. Presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas arrived separately to meet with Pope Francis individually in the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse. The three eventually met and were joined by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, before proceeding to the Vatican gardens for an Invocation for Peace."

The evening’s prayer was divided into three parts, following the chronological ordering of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious communities. Prayers were offered in Hebrew, English, Italian, and Arabic, praising God for creation, asking pardon for sin, and requesting the gift of peace. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-prays-for-peace-with-israeli-and-palestinian-presidents/

THE ROLE OF CORPORATE

and FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS

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During an event on July 23rd 2013 in the United states, Secretary of State John Kerry met with senior representatives of veterans, religious, business, and disability rights organizations, all of whom are advocates for the Disabilities Treaty.

. . . An increasing number of Americans, including veterans and service members, want to serve, study, work, and travel overseas. Many Americans with disabilities, and families with a disabled child, do not have this opportunity because other countries often lack legal protections and standards as effective as those in the United States.

PRN: 2013/0917- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/07/212319.htm Retrieved July 24th 2013 6:23PM

-*-

For years war and at times preventable scenarios have taken life, maimed others, crippled yet others mentally, physically and intellectually, if not spiritually PTSD and all… worldwide. On June 8, 2014 Pope Francis welcomed the presidents of Israel and Palestine to the Vatican on a Sunday evening for an unprecedented meeting of prayer, the Invocation for Peace. Joined by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the three leaders prayed for peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East. I am profoundly grateful to you for accepting my invitation to come here and to join in imploring from God the gift of peace. It is my hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of a new journey where we seek the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide, said Pope Francis on June 8 in the Vatican gardens. Retrieved June 10th 2014 - http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-prays-for-peace-with-israeli-and-palestinian-presidents/

Involvement with outreaches to persons with diverse disabilities was a life changing scenario short of a nightmare

It was the ideal recipe for a religio-eco-politico -spiritual nightmare… A dark night that preceded the bright nights and brighter days for children and persons with disabilities in the 20th and into 21st AD-ACE.*

The world before us, the world we were born in and the world we sought to change in favor of Persons with disabilities were all different worlds…* . . .

For my ways are not your ways, nor My thoughts your thoughts…* . . ."

The 20th century was dominated by ethnic and religious struggles and conflicts; the 21st century has vastly inherited the problem with a huge shift in attitude and preference (Race and Ethnicity. Comparative and Theoretical Approaches; Edited by John Stone and Rutledge Dennis; USA: Blackwell, 2003). Today, many people are increasingly advocating for the death of religion by reaching out for new spiritual meanings beyond the walls of religions and by tolerating other religions as a way of allowing Faith in God to prevail as what they believe should matter today. Gabriel Ipasu

THE LAST OF THE KEY 20th CENTURY SHAMANS among the Agikuyu of Tetu wa mburi

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seen in this photo is the Medicine-man’s wife, in traditional African ladies attire… alongside the divination* kits-20th century- consisting of gourds and rattles etc etc…, the shaman’s grandsons looks from behind and grandma waving a Ritual flywhisk as she says good-bye to yester-years… into the emergent New World Order…*The front runners catechist Ernest Kibororo and Rev Fr. Dr. Dr. Boniface Murage Nguyo have all since passed on RIP -And (Right)- the Ceremonial Mass* kit of a contemporary Priest in the 21st Century.

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Photos by John P. Kamau

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being. Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light, but making the darkness conscious. Carl Jung

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Program Courtesy ADN Printing Press-

"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads." Erica Jong

Murage nituthii cukuru . . . murage let’s go to school-with those few words from a seasoned teacher one Mzee Barnabas Kanyira steered a young three year old boy to school in the early 1940’s… over the years the young boy found himself in the strange world of his shamanic ancestors swimming through at times shark infested waters of new theological and metaphysical perspectives as he made efforts to shed light into the old world order after exposure in the New world order… mentoring many along the way and ultimately leaving behind - UNFINISHED BUSSINESS and a Manuscript.

(Rest In Peace Rev Fr. Dr. Dr. Boniface Murage Nguyo -November 28th 1940-December 4th 2012-RIP) . . .* . . . Boniface followed his talents to the dark place where it leads.(RIP) and passed ON.

THE DARK NIGHTS AND THE BRIGHT NIGHTS OF THE SOUL

A NEW WORLD ORDER IS ESTABLISHED July 1957

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS OF THE SOUL/Book -Chapter/-Sequel to THE BRIGHT DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL A QUASI FICTITIOUS REENACTMENT

July 1957 must have been a very cold month atop a hill in Central Kenya in the midst of the Mau Mau war against the British colonial forces, even as the locals were divided amongst themselves wondering who could be trusted not to be treacherous. Amidst all these chaos a young boy was born within earshot of the post-midnight gunshots if not the wailing sounds of the nearby hyenas, jackals and owls that invoked the spirits of the dark night, even as a nun, a Sister of the Consolata missionaries with a Rosary clad in her hands said a Holy Mary: it was, perhaps the last bead on the long chain of 55 plus 5 and, a beaded cross that she held firmly in her hand of hands, though anchored around her cloistered habit and a belt that held everything together.

Will the baby make it? Asked Sister Maria Francesca the Italian nun who had once worked alongside Sister Irene Nyaathaa-The Merciful one who contracted a disease as she went out of her way to help a dying person, who unknown to her had a highly contagious disease.

As if the question was directed at the young weakling, he whimpered, whizzed and then sneezed and let out a stuttering, little but sure baby’s cry, a sign of life…* . . . 7:34AM July 12th 2013 Friday

Father Farchinello, the locally based Italian priest from the Consolata missionary Institute, founded by one canon Giuseppe Allamano, ever Prayer-full and prudent had seen many a child in this state, and prudently but with cautionary intonations gave the young weakling its final rites, just in-case…* . . .* . . .: I commit him to the Holy Mother of God, The Blessed Virgin Mary and to all the Angels and Saints, that one day…*** . . .:

In the name of The Father,

The Son -&and&- The Holy Spirit-:- Amen.

THE MISSIONARY FACTOR AND THE MAU MAU

There were many other babies and mothers and both young and older boys and girls, if not elderly men and women who didn’t make it to SUNRISE on that Cold, Sunday, July month. It was the year in which one Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi Wachiuri, a Mau Mau leader had been hanged on February the 18th 1957 after an intense three weeks spiritual session with yet another Consolata Missionary Priest Father Nicola Marino.

Will you take care of my Son Fr. Marino…* . . .*I live him to you, may he not end the way that I have, though I have no regrets…* . . .* . . . this had to be, it was my appointment with fate and destiny… Mwathani aroikara nawe’ to which father Nicola responded with an Italian accent… but in the kikuyu language… Ona Muoyo Waku.(The Lord be with you . . . And with your Spirit. Then he reached out in his pocket, pulled out a crystal clear white scarf, wiped a tear off his now wet eyes, and passed it out to Dedan Kimathi son of Wachiuri.

In silence both said a prayer that one day the children of their physical if not spiritual ancestry would live in peace and learn how best to sort out their differences without resulting to armed war-fare -:-That this symbolic act would start a process of building bridges across diverse cultures even in moments of extreme unction and disabilities.

It was Steve jobs founder of Apple computers who is cited as having said that you cannot connect the dots looking forward during a commencement speech at Stanford university in the United States of America. Reflecting back on the dark nights and bright moments one is left with little option than to agree with this computer guru of the 20th and 21st Century Steve Jobs cited elsewhere in this script. some highlights would include…* . . .

Saint Pope John Paul II, Disabilities OUTREACHES IN

Year 2000

the year of THE JUBILLE

And into the 21st century

Fatha John’s personal experience and that of his ancestors portray the irredeemable price of leading when challenged with massive cultural change. For example, in Kenya’s case, a long and sometimes violent struggle ensued before Kenyans accepted and supported the protection of infirm newborns. For thousands of years, sick and deformed babies were abandoned or terminated because they were considered - evil or could compromise the lives of healthy family members who were agile and ready to escape attacks from aggressors in a moment’s notice. –Deborah Childress

The Images below illustrate scenes of VIOLENCE in the 1950’s Mau Mau war and in the 21st Century a collection of historical archives photo clippings used here for illustration. -such violence is in no way conducive for the livelihood of persons with disabilities, their families or any society.

The Mau Mau warfare in the 1950’s -Original historical sources and archives acknowledged

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Illustrations of violence in the 20th and 21st Century -Sources acknowledged.

For years war and at times preventable scenarios have taken life, maimed others, crippled yet others mentally, physically and intellectually, if not spiritually PTSD and all… worldwide.

‘The warriors’ activities were guided chiefly by tribal needs, and in that case there were organized raids. But sometimes there would be a group of young warriors bent on adventure, and eager to dip their spears in human blood, who would steal away to the neighboring tribe, and if they were lucky in carrying out the ceremony of warrior-hood…,-would return quietly to their own territory and proudly exhibit their deadly weapons to the public to show that they had reached a stage of maturity in the warriors’ ranks. "My People Of kikuyu and The Life Of Chief Wangombe (1942)- Jomo Kenyatta page 25 of 59.

In recent times physical force has given place to diplomacy as a means of defence. it is a difficult and disheartening weapon to use… thus, "the important duty of their chiefs… to keep discipline among the warriors; while the council of elders, the central organ of the government, they sat not in their capacity of chiefs but as elders- Jomo Kenyatta – My People –and the Life Of chief wangombe (1942)- page 26 0f 59.

. . . shark infested waters of new world order metaphysical perspectives as… efforts shed light into the old world order:

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 . . . bent on adventure, and eager to dip their spears in human blood, who would steal away to the neighboring tribe, and if they were lucky in carrying out the ceremony of warrior-hood…,-would return quietly to their own territory and proudly exhibit their deadly weapons to the public…

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 . . . in recent times physical force has given place to diplomacy as a means of defence. it is a difficult and disheartening weapon to use…

A contemporary Board Of Governors after a crisis meeting and a delicate balancing act between the Religious, secular and political world in the early stages of shaping the future world for children with intellectual and physical disabilities in Kenya east Africa. Photo courtesy. John Kamau –CBoG.

From Africa to the Americas

LAND OF THE PILGRIM

Culminating ultimately

To the publication of

THE BRIGHT DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL(2013-January)-USA Edition

And

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA(2014)-USA Edition

In the world of the mentally, physically, intellectually and spiritually handicapped

A sequel to THE BRIGHT DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL

FINDING MEANING AND PURPOSE IN NEW BEGINNINGS

Reflections from spiritual diaries of a Shamans grandson and The bright nights of the soul

DISABILITIES IN The 20th and INTO THE 21st Century Africa

The script writer in recalling some historical events seeks to Leave a Legacy for researchers and the NEXT GENERATION by quasi-fictionalizing a story to the ‘YOUTH’ and the AFTER US generation in our time, Today for Tomorrow by laying the foundation in an age which promotes a culture of interchange of information and cultural and traditional values in divergent communities of the World we live in. When, the generation of their Fathers, and Mothers still have their faculties in place. It’s an old art if not a traditional craft of the sages of yesteryears,

Fatha John Patrick Kamau

NAÏVETY and THE POLITICS OF Disabilities OUTREACH INITIATIVES-:- WWW.FriendsOfAllamano.org

As we watched the ‘before us’ tumble, or die off, new lessons too, we learned…*" . . . it is now clear that the so called community service initiatives in the corporate sector could and did flow into the arena of social justice. And promoting the rights and welfare of the mentally handicapped, is social justice, and is said to be politics. It is also not prudent to raise more money for social community initiatives than your general manager or chief operations officer; or is it? It is also not prudent to advocate and also practice transparency in fundraising initiatives; or is it? Fatha Jon you were simply, NAÏVE.

Remember the Pope is more than the Head of the Catholic Church":-Ref:-The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul(2013-USA)- *

What we got involved in was more than a disability outreach

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Problem tree courtesy of St Martins Disabilities outreach initiative- Nyahururu –Kenya East Africa.

THE SPIRITUALITY, POLITICS and ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES OF DISABILITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES

CONNECTING THE DOTS -part A

Archbishop Nicodemus kirima*(Right), Rev Dr Boniface Murage*(Centre backseated) and John kamau(L-front)

And John Kiongo (Right alone in November 7th 2014) during a Graduation ceremony event in Kenya-E.A.

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A 1st encounter in September 1988* A meeting in Rome Italy in 1994, and An event in 1999

And finally thereafter in Atlanta Georgia United States of America.*Nicodemus& Boniface-(RIP)*

A WORLD EVOLVED and DEVOLVED

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being. Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light, but making the darkness conscious. Carl Jung

"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads." Erica Jong

We all have our turning point experiences-;-

Preface:-THE PRICE and PRIZE OF DESTINY: Footpaths in a Pilgrims Progress Journey.

Atlanta Georgia, Lakeland Florida, The City of Lake Wales and A City named CITY OF HAINES CITY- in The SOUTH

In 1620, the first Pilgrims to the Americas arrived on the Mayflower, landing in what is now modern-day Massachusetts; in The NORTH -their settlement named Plymouth survived, and the story of a new nation was subsequently born.

Settlers (pioneers) from the east spread west across the plains, all the way to California. Soon railroads - the driving engines of coast-to-coast commerce - were up and running; the economy exploded and towns sprang up across the land. In the southern states slavery was an on-going, serious problem, and this new and fast-growing nation was soon ravaged by a bloody Civil War between north and south; the north (northern states) eventually won, and slavery was abolished. Retrieved http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm

Shortly thereafter beyond events that lasted 246 years+ Plus Haines City began as Clay Cut in 1883, named this because the cut was so deep for the railroad at 1st Street and U.S. Highway 17-92 that trains were lost from sight when they went through there. It was later named Haines City after Colonel Henry Haines, an officer with South Florida Railroad who was instrumental in establishing the town’s train station.(source Touring the CITY OF HAINES CITY FL- Courtesy of HAINES CITY MUSEUM-Northeast Polk County Historical Society, INC May 15th 2014

In the year that marked the Centenial anniversary of The City of Haines City was a home rule municipality that operated under the commission-manager form of government. The City Commission was the elected legislative and governing body of the City. It consisted of five (5) City Commissioners elected to serve four (4) year terms. The Commission selected a Mayor and Vice-Mayor through a majority vote of the Commission each year.

It was during the tenure of Commissioner Horace West, Commissioner Ronnie Cotton, Vice-Mayor Kenneth Kipp, Commissioner Don Mason, and Mayor H.L. Roy Tyler in an age when one Jonathan Evans was Town Manager and one Joshua Fruecht as town clerk in the year AD/ACE 2014 that this script finally took shape shortly after Memorial Day.

But in that same year 2014 a young daughter of Mama Africa one Lupita Nyong’o, alongside others, re-enacted an Oscar winning story, in- "12 years a Slave’ -yet another 21st century reminder, that We were ALL-all on a healing Journey.

From Tallahassee one Governor Rick Scott administered the State of Florida and Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida reached out to and from the Federal state Capital in Washington DC. A few thousand miles away straight as the eagle flies, at the White house sat in office the 44th President of the United states one President Barack Obama, whose father one Dr. Barack Obama Senior, a beneficiary of Tom Mboya’s and the Kennedy’s 1960s students airlift . . . had taught him how to dance the African Jig song which he in turn had learned from his ancestors once upon a time. In the book Dreams of my Father by Barack Obama, he had taken time to reflect on these nostalgic moments. Moments in the life of a young man in search of an identity… remembering that final distant telephone call* . . . tears by his father’s graveside in the 20th century and 21st century, tears for a Nation in year 2012.

Over the years Fatha John had watched Africa, Europe Asia and that other still mysterious continent Australia, land of the Aborigines evolve and Mama Africa too. Let every Nation Know… whether it wishes us ill or well… said one President John F. Kennedy in a Landmark Speech in the early 1960’s, A sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver would shortly thereafter introduce Special Olympics for persons with intellectual disabilities, and as seasons and cycles passed by other Presidents had come and gone peacefully, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Snr, Hilary Clinton, George W. Bush and finally 44th in line but the 1st ever game changer of the 21st Century of African and American ancestry came into office . . . YES WE CAN had been the clarion call, the year was 2008, and the YOUTH took over, a new generation, a digital generation, a new era of change. Long gone were the days of one Kipchoge Keino who broke the under four minutes one mile track record in 1968… others had come and gone too, but the Nation lived*

Europe too had seen changes with an Iron Lady one Margret Thatcher in Office in a long line of British Prime ministers that had seen a wind of change blow over the continent of Africa and the world at large, In the East of Africa Presidents emerged… Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi and Emilio Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania*, Milton Obote of Uganda, Idi Amin Dada and far South the emergence of the iconic Nelson Mandela in South Africa and on and on. And somewhere else in Europe in that 109 Acre enclave, the Vatican state saw the year of two living Popes one Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, and one Pope Francis, and both watched on April 27th 2014 as their immediate predecessor became Saint Pope John Paul II alongside Saint Pope John XXIII, of the wind of change era. Earlier on in 1969 one pontiff Pope Paul VI had reached out to Africa and in Uganda had declared Martyrs . . .Red blood martyrs

Elsewhere on the massive continent of Asia things moved too fast that one could not keep track of events, but on flashback, names of National leaders Joseph Stalin, Nikita Krushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, the reformer President Boris Yeltsin, and Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost(openess) and Perestroika(restructuring") as well as summit conferences with united States President Ronald Reagan… contributed to the end of the cold war. And at the time this script was concluded in 2014, President Vladmir Putin was in office in Russia, It was during the Pontificate of one Pope Francis at the Vatican., . . . In China our history teacher taught us of one Chairman Mao tse Tung. Those were the days before the internet and one was expected to remember offhead, no search engines…* . . . Our grandparents, these they recalled but… Would the world ever be the same again?

But, fortunately this script story on persons with diverse limitations if not disabilities begins in another era, on another continent, -Africa, and near a different coastline,-Mombasa Kenya where stood a historical military fort, ironically named Fort Jesus.

In KENYA: A Land of contrasts. Kenya land of Simba… where the world Boy’s scouts and Girl guides pay homage to one Lord Robert Baden Powell and Lady Powell are buried in Nyeri Kenya not far away from Queen Elizabeth’s… Treetops

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FORT JESUS:- built in 1591/93- courtesy, and by order of king Philip 1 of Portugal-(King Philip II of Spain) on a site that stood on a coral ridge at the entrance to the harbor in Mombasa, Kenya- along the Eastern coastline of Africa.- Fatha John Patrick Kamau.

KENYA and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RELATIONS 1960s to 2014 Pictorial History

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PERSPECTIVES FROM AN AFRICAN NATION:-KENYA EAST AFRICA -:-Photos Courtesy Historical archives President John F Kennedy and Tom Mboya, President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya, President Daniel T. Arap Moi, Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, J M Kariuki, Robert Ouko, Dedan Kimathi,- (Raila A. Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, Kalonzo Musyoka,-with Doves)-President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, President Uhuru M. Kenyatta,

REFLECTIONS ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF THE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

As the 13th of June 2014 passed by the 13th year in the United states of America entered into perspective. Between Africa, Europe and the America’s –Mama Africa and America had shaped the longest time in the adult life of the African shaman’s great grandson-Building Bridges Across Troubled Waters –

WHEN OLD WAYS FADE AWAY

For my ways are not your ways, nor My thoughts your thoughts…* . . .

THE LAST OF THE KEY 20th CENTURY SHAMANS among the Agikuyu of Tetu wa mburi

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seen in this photo is the Medicine-man’s wife, in traditional African ladies attire… alongside the divination* kits-20th century- consisting of gourds and rattles etc etc…, the shaman’s grandsons looks from behind and grandma waving a Ritual flywhisk as she says good-bye to yester-years… into the emergent New World Order…*The front runners catechist Ernest Kibororo and Rev Fr Dr Boniface Murage have all since passed on RIP -And (Right)- the Ceremonial Mass* kit of a contemporary Priest in the 21st Century.

Prologue- by Deborah Childress

In The Bright Nights and Drum Beats from Mama Africa, Fatha John Patrick Kamau pens his second book, following The Bright Dark Nights of the Soul. His main character, Fatha Jon, is present in both publications, as a grandson from a historical lineage of shamans and governing tribal warriors of yesteryears, and contemporary priests and scholars. With myriad story collections, Fatha John’s books are enchanting reads, filled with mysteries that begin in the 19th century and proceed into the 21st.

Author Fatha John Patrick Kamau and dedicated peers serve as Friends of Allamano, a leadership group that has expanded beyond its roots in Kenya, East Africa and serves as a guardian of life to support the goal of global peace for the disabled. Fatha John led what became a challenging transition to ensure continued support for physically and mentally challenged children provided with care and education at The Allamano Special School located in, Kenya.

Fatha John’s personal experience and that of his ancestors portray the irredeemable price of leading when challenged with massive cultural change. For example, in Kenya’s case, a long and sometimes violent struggle ensued before Kenyans accepted and supported the protection of infirm newborns. For thousands of years, sick and deformed babies were abandoned or terminated because they were considered - evil or could compromise the lives of healthy family members who were agile and ready to escape attacks from aggressors in a moment’s notice.

In Fatha John’s first book, he enlightens readers to Kenya’s historically spiritual and superstitious ways, and its introduction to other religions, cultures and belief systems. He ventures into new age and various ancient religions, symbolism, secret societies and mysterious actual events, pondering what it all means, sometimes providing the answers. (Somehow, his Africa is different than that which I assumed to know through scant news reports. Today, I feel that I understand this isolated and mysterious part of the world in a way that I never would know, if it weren’t Fatha John.) In Bright Nights and Drum Beats from Mama Africa, main character Fatha Jon delves into more recent, documented events from the United States and abroad, and his own introspections that reflect our author’s continued compassion towards the physically and mentally challenged of any age.

I met Fatha Jon in 2009 while I served as editor-in-chief for a small global arts foundation. When I heard that someone was nearby who had helped save countless babies in Kenya, my childhood curiosity about the entire continent quickly rose. I felt privileged to meet such a man whom I suspected must be exceptional.

I was right. Fatha John was clearly on a mission of a higher calling…

To the outside world, it seems that Africa has been barbaric in spirit. But the priests and nuns have learned that the African people have been afraid, due to ancient religious and superstitious beliefs, as dear to them as our beliefs are to us. In a sentence, millions of babies have indeed died from curable misconceptions about illnesses, and more recently, about hospitals, disease management and cures…

Should we still believe that the Ship of Fools carried away the most ill among us?

Deborah K. Childress

It was the ideal recipe for a religio-eco-politico -spiritual nightmare. A dark night that preceded the bright nights and brighter days for children and persons with disabilities in the 21st AD-ACE.*

From Africa to the Americas

LAND OF THE PILGRIM

AGING AND LIVING GRACEFULLY -:-AFRICA IN THE 19th and into 21st Century

WAKAGUME aKa Gachuku Njiiri (Born 1840*-1979 July*)- And HILDA Wairimu (Born 1895-2014 -Sunset)-Rest In Peace

Photo Courtesy hildah Wairimu - Charles and Charity Karaya’s Family -USA

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A great, great Greatgrandmother once asked her granddaughter… a Catholic Nun Thithita*-(Sister*) do you Pray… offcourse grandma, that’s most of what I do daily *–OK next time you Pray ask God on my behalf- God have you forgotten me-many years later her conflict was resolved. She lived to over 120 years-her name WAKAGUME Aka Gachuku Njiiri who met Author and adventurer John Boyes-KING Of The WA-KIKUYU in late 1890’s…* . . . But on a point of history, Gachuku Njiiri knew very little about one Mzee Jomo Kenyatta,-he was a bare passing reflection in her over 120 years of life

A TURNING POINT -:-an existential crisis and a Spiritual memoire

She lived to over 120 years-her name WAKAGUME Aka Gachuku Njiiri": Born Approx 1840*

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Story Courtesy of Journalist and Author Joseph E. Karimi

On Wakagume’s grave marker is inscribed BORN*- Approximately 1840* her sunset was more specific a date in July 1979, 77 years after her famous if not infamous warrior Chief wangombe wa Ihura. It was this Lady that met the first white man and the infamous explorer and adventurer John Boyes-(AkA -Karianjahi)* Author of KING Of The Wa-Kikuyu(August 1911-John Boyes). In 1977 this script writer had an opportunity to tape record this legendary Lady from Mama Africa… and her last living daughter –‘Muthoni’ who was her primary caregiver until she passed ON/away in July 1979… but how does such historical information find its place in contemporary society… "Once Upon a time…* . . . by the fireside children would learn such of such, but that was years before the DOT.COM era… in -AFRIKA-THAT MYSTERIOUS CONTINENT IN A FAR AWAY LAND

Recent efforts to reconstruct the family history and liniage of the life of one Senior Chief Nderi son of Wangombe on the 59th Anniversary of his assassination(*Born:-1880*-on Wednesday 22nd October 1952-RIP), provide more details on the structure of wangombe waihura’s family tree, 6-six wives in all and mysterious tentacles and entrails among the Maasai and Meru peoples of Kenya East Africa if not beyond, with Egypt tagged in courtesy of one Pharaoh Khufu of KEMIT. The script writer in recalling some of these historical events seeks to tell a story to the ‘YOUTH’ and the AFTER US generation in our time, Today for Tomorrow by laying the foundation in an age which promotes a culture of interchange of information and cultural and traditional values in divergent communities of the World we live in. Fatha John Patrick Kamau - Information Courtesy of the Nderi Family history Secreteriat Anniversary committee

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AFRIKA-THAT MYSTERIOUS CONTINENT IN A FAR AWAY LAND

With somewhat strange cultural values and traditions.

DISABILITIES IN The 20th and INTO THE 21st Century Africa

In another part of the world far from the shores of the African Continent an American Artist has perfected the art of reconstructing the history of that distant continent among other commendable efforts. Its an old art of storytelling, if not a traditional craft of the sages of yesteryears which Artist Greg Crumbly of Lakeland in the the United States of America has immortalized in the 20th and 21st century…* . . .

THE MYSTERIES OF AFRICA

Once upon a time… so began the story by the fireside, in a smoke filled room as the children waited on a boiling pot…* . . . only the mother knew the recipe that constituted the meal of the day as the unborn child or those sitting around the fire and smoke filled kitchen waited…* . . .2:37 AM June 12th 2014 Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Every MOTHER wishes their child the BEST…* . . . but, WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? ONLY THE FUTURE WILL 1902-2014:-"Que sera sera-the future is not ours to see…* Reflection 4:04 AM 4:04:55 AM Wednesday, January 07, 2015 Friday June 6th 2014, 4:04:55 AM

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Courtesy of Artist Greg crumbly - Artist Greg Crumbly’s portrait of the AFRICAN LIONS depicting Shaka Zulu(left) of South Africa, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta Aka Johnstone Kamau -*(22nd August 1978-RIP- Centre 3-three) and Nelson Mandela Aka Madiba*(December 5th 2013-RIP-Right -2-two images)- WWW.FriendsOfAllamano.Org

And there was one Professor Jeffrey A. Fadiman who was among the many hospitable Americans who lavished Fatha John with rare manuscripts on the past history of his ancestors as in the case of MOUNTAIN WARRIORS: the Pre-Colonial meru of Mt. Kenya- an out of print publication. Among his other books When We Began, There Were Witchmen- An Oral History From mount Kenya By Jeffrey A. Fadiman proved handy in comprehending the pre Missionary encounter and post Missionary encounter escapades. He had found a way of chronicaling history. And his challenge and handwritten inspiration note ("TO John Patrick KAMAU. may you remain an a human light illuminating the history of your people. Signed.)

Asante sana Mzee Jeffrey A. Fadiman. Thanks.

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A Personalized out of print copy of THE MOUNTAIN WARRIORS courtesy Prof. Jeffrey Fadiman(Jan-2013-USA) and a re-enacting of warrior dance traditions in a contemporary ceremony: Photo courtesy Fatha John Patrick Kamau

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A Personalized out of print copy of THE MOUNTAIN WARRIORS courtesy Prof. Jeffrey Fadiman(Jan-2013-USA) and a re-enacting of warrior dance traditions in a contemporary ceremony: Photo courtesy Fatha John Patrick Kamau

*Footnote:

Over the years I met many kind people in the united States of America, travelled extensively and interacted with people in various forums, veterans, laity and clergy of diverse belief systems and variant stages of health, ability and disability, of faith and faith-less but none that did not have a belief or believe in something…* . . . but that is a dish for another session… where people agree to agree or disagree and then move on, still friends, . . .* . . .: able to meet another day and move on, in and with life…:-

Reflections Beyond The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul

Reflections Beyond The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul in DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA"-A sequel

A tribute to the cerebral palsied one, Sir John Kiongo and To a Pope and A saint Pope John Paul II

AMDG:"TATA ONE NINDAIKARA THI.’’ Meaning -Aunt See I have managed to seat up.

We all have our turning point experiences, for Fatha John and fatha jon- the shaman’s grandsons, it involved a mysterious death in Southern Africa, an encounter with a dying Italian Consolata missionary priest, an accident at 200KPH(125MPH) Eastern Africa, an inquest into symbols and symbolism, rituals, cults and the occult, esoterica and a world of strange practices and belief systems in the Americas, Asia. Europe. and in Africa, and one John Kiongo who was cerebral palsied from birth…* . . . the rest is HIS-story, for how else could a person with disabilities impact not just one life but impact on an entire wide world and change many lifes long into a new millennium…

He uttered his first word at the age of six and the first word was ‘’ TATA ONE NINDAIKARA THI.’’ Meaning (Aunt See I have managed to seat up). Then he insisted that they pray together, and from there he started talking.

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The early years were compounded with crisis after crisis in efforts to create an institution for the physically and mentally handicapped children who had for long been neglected and stigmatized if not killed at birth. The Daughters of St Anne and Sisters of Mary Immaculate among many others reached out in a unique way… demonstrating that there is a place and time in our human life for various vocations and calls to service, secular and religious alike. The nuns became the mothers for such as these…* . . .-Photos by John Patrick kamau

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE- A Disabilities Success Story- JOHN KIONGO KAMAU-The Inspiration behind the book- The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul- Library of Congress Control Number 2012920646 - ISBN: 978-1-4797-4321-6

Born in 1982 at Tetu in Kenya East Africa John Kiongo had multiple Disabilities…* . . . "For five years from birth he could not talk, walk nor seat, he only slept in bed. His head wasn’t stable also. Feeding him was the biggest challenge, one had to balance him and hold him firmly for his body and head were shaking & staggering.

He uttered his first word at the age of six and the first word was ‘’ TATA ONE NINDAIKARA THI.’’ Meaning (Aunt See I have managed to seat up). Then he insisted that they pray together, and from there he started talking (an excerpt from Evelyn Nyokabi –John kiongo’s sister and caregiver)Wednesday, January 07, 2015 -4:04:55 AM 2nd May 2014 FL 4:21 AM

ISBN: 978-1-4797-4321-6 - " . . . John Kiongo who had Cerebral Palsy, he sat cowed and fear-full on one corner- his pre admission encounters to Allamanos had led him to lose faith in the goodness of humanity-‘Extract from Page 29 of 404 –The Bright Dark Nights Of The Soul’ In The World Of Persons With Disabilities By Fatha John Patrick Kamau

THE BRIGHT NIGHTS OF THE SOUL-CONNECTING THE DOTS.

THE SPIRITUALITY OF LIVING UNDER THE SHADOW OF GRACE HOPE AND TIME

In the world of the mentally, physically, intellectually and spiritually handicapped

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TOP-Donations of food and provisions for the mentally handicapped children by the community: BOTTOM: Governments and Church officials, and Trustees representatives-with members of the Board of Governors after a Crisis session of a Board meeting-:-The early years were compounded with crisis after crisis in efforts to create an institution for the physically and mentally handicapped children who had for long been neglected and stigmatized if not killed at birth. The departure of the founding Consolata missionary Priest in July 1999 followed by a gold medal award by the Vatican from then and now Saint Pope John Paul II unleashed a scenario that is partly the subject of this case scenario in disabilities.

REFLECTIONS ON THE SPIRITUALITY, POLITICS and ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES OF DISABILITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES

A sequel to THE BRIGHT DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL

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FINDING MEANING AND PURPOSE IN NEW BEGINNINGS

Reflections from spiritual diaries of a Shamans grandson and The bright nights of the soul

July 23rd 2013 8:02AM 4:04:55 AM WWW.friendsOfAllamano.Org

Faces Of Mankind and HUMANITY IN EMPATHY and COMPASSION

Will man ever learn and if yes do we have forums in which we can affiliate and become friends first in peaceful times… becoming a people capable of resolving most of our disputes peacefully before they escalate? Are outreaches to persons with diverse handicaps and disabilities one of them?

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During an event on July 23rd 2013 in the United states, Secretary of State John Kerry met with senior representatives of veterans, religious, business, and disability rights organizations, all of whom are advocates for the Disabilities Treaty.

. . . An increasing number of Americans, including veterans and service members, want to serve, study, work, and travel overseas. Many Americans with disabilities, and families with a disabled child, do not have this opportunity because other countries often lack legal protections and standards as effective as those in the United States.

The disabilities treaty… will create new markets for U.S. businesses to export accessible products, technologies, and expertise. And it will reinforce America’s global leadership and improve our ability to advance disability rights worldwide without requiring any changes at home.

Secretary Kerry, . . . emphasized his personal commitment to raise awareness of the Treaty’s benefits for the United States and Americans with disabilities.

PRN: 2013/0917- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/07/212319.htm Retrieved July 24th 2013 6:23PM

CREATING FORUMS FOR POSITIVE COEXISTENCE

For years war and at times preventable scenarios have taken life, maimed others, crippled yet others mentally, physically and intellectually, if not spiritually PTSD and all… worldwide. On June 8, 2014 Pope Francis welcomed the presidents of Israel and Palestine to the Vatican on a Sunday evening for an unprecedented meeting of prayer, the Invocation for Peace. Joined by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the three leaders prayed for peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East. I am profoundly grateful to you for accepting my invitation to come here and to join in imploring from God the gift of peace. It is my hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of a new journey where we seek the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide, said Pope Francis on June 8 in the Vatican gardens. Retrieved June 10th 2014 - http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-prays-for-peace-with-israeli-and-palestinian-presidents/

THE DRIVE FOR AN ALL INCLUSIVE AND DISABILITY FRIENDLY SOCIETY IN THE 21st CENTURY

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THE BRIGHT NIGHTS and DRUMBEATS FROM MAMA AFRICA

Building Bridges Across Troubled Waters -:-

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on"- Mark Twain.

WWW.friendsOfallamano.org -&and&- WWW.FriendsOfallamano.com

TRANSLATIONS-:-

Towards this end an academic paper on Disabilities is presented in 6-six different Languages in this script, PORTUGUESE, ENGLISH,-LUO,-SPANISH,-FRENCH,-KIKUYU- and English-Kikuyu to side translation.

AFRIKCA

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In 1620, the first Pilgrims to the Americas arrived on the Mayflower, landing in what is now modern-day Massachusetts; in The NORTH -their settlement named Plymouth survived, and the story of a new nation was subsequently born.

Settlers (pioneers) from the east spread west across the plains, all the way to California. Soon railroads - the driving engines of coast-to-coast commerce - were up and running; the economy exploded and towns sprang up across the land. In the southern states slavery was an on-going, serious problem, and this new and fast-growing nation was soon ravaged by a bloody Civil War between north and south; the north (northern states) eventually won, and slavery was abolished. Retrieved http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm

In the early part of world war II a father requested his head of state for help to help terminate the life of his child… a child with disabilities… out of this was born the T4 program and what ultimately earned the infamous designation of THE FINAL SOLUTION culminating ultimately to the death of millions worldwide. The rest is HIS-story

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With Thanks and Gratitude

For the better part of the 21st century, it was the united States that Mothered us and catered for us even in the darkest of nights. And it was Georgia and florida that provided a roof over our heads. Atlanta GA. And it