The Global Art Initiative Newsletter - July 2009
The Ken N'gang'a Story - by Dr. Fred Sorrells
I was traveling from Waco to Burnet, Texas where I had been helping my niece enroll in college, and I stopped at a Whataburger restaurant along I-35 in Belton for a cup of coffee. After “doctoring” my coffee, I turned around to see an African man standing behind me. When I inquired where he was from, Rogers Kahindi said he was from Kenya and that he was a student at Mary Hardin Baylor University in Belton. Rogers had left Kenya two years ago for his studies abroad.
I told Rogers about being with the Kenyan athletes during the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. I also mentioned that we were launching a new nonprofit organization to assist poor disabled artists in Third World countries sale their artwork.
Rogers became very happy when I mentioned this and proceeded to share a personal dilemma. Two years ago when he left Kenya, a woman in his church in Mombasa, Kenya had given him a CD containing photos of her son’s artwork. Her son's name was Ken N'gang'a, and he was a paraplegic. She asked that Rogers sell her son's artwork in America.
Rogers confided to me that he knew nothing about art and certainly did not know anything about selling things in America. Sadly he shared with me that he had kept the CD under wraps for two years and had no way to help his disabled friend. When I discovered that Rogers did not have an immediate class, I suggested that we go to his apartment to collect the CD with Ken’s artwork. I was so amazed at how I had met Rogers and in less than an hour was holding the CD of an African disabled artist in my hands.
Meanwhile, I was so overwhelmed at God’s providence. We had recently formed the Global Art Initiative and were looking for disabled artists in Third World countries. At that point we only had contact with disabled artists from Haiti. I told Rogers that while we met at Whataburger, we should rename this place of our meeting, WhataGod! Rogers and I prayed together rejoicing in how God had transformed a coffee break into a major breakthrough for championing disabled artists worldwide.
Ken N'gang'a, a competitive swimmer, broke his neck in a diving accident in 1992. Ken’s father, a taxi cab driver, died in 1997, and shortly afterwards Ken and his mother were evicted from their home. They moved to a dirt floored shanty dwelling with no running water or electricity. Shortly thereafter, two of Ken’s siblings passed away leaving him as the head of his household.
Ken has had no access to rehab therapy and has not seen a doctor since 1994. He is alive because of the dedication of his mother has been turning him in his bed every 3 hours since 1992 and has been feeding him garlic to prevent bladder infections. He hasn’t been able to leave his bed or his room since 1997.
Ken started painting in 2002, but has found no good way to sell his work in Kenya. He became bitter towards God, but following communication with his friend Rogers Kahindi who met me in a Whataburger in Burnet, Texas his hope for a better life has been restored.
Since that meeting, the Global Art Initiative sent money and has received 175 paintings from under Ken’s bed. The paintings are now being photographed to be sold via FineArtAmerica.com.
Also, international wheelchair athlete and 5-time Gold Medalist winner Quintin Stephens has donated a wheelchair for Ken, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. We are raising funds now for a trip to Kenya to deliver the wheelchair and to make arrangements for an assisted living facility along with physical therapy. Our hope is to see Ken competing as a swimmer again, perhaps in the 2012 Paralympics. The sale of Ken’s artwork will help fund the trip, the physical therapy and training for the Paralympics. It will also help Ken’s mom get medical attention for her heart conditions.