$25,000 Raised For the Late Oduma in Boston

Bishop Joshua Wambua of Rapture Harvest Mission International hugs Judy Oduma, the late Arthur Oduma's sister as the brother, Mr. Lawrence Oduma ( holding mic) and Bishop Wambua's wife( fourth right) and \Caroline Munyendo, who comes from the same area as Arthur in Kenya look on. To the far right is Mr. James Njuguna of Oasis of Love Fellowship, who was very instrumental at organizing for the highly succeesful fund raising. pic by H. Maina/ Ajabu

 by Harrison Maina
AjabuAfrica.com     
CAMBRIDGE, Mass- APRIL1- An outpouring of love , friendship, and commitment was in display last Sunday , March 29 , 2009 as Kenyans, friends and well wishers from every corner of the globe chipped in to help raise funds to repatriate the body of a highly ambitious and loving Kenyan man who sadly passed away in his apartment in Cambridge, MA only to be discovered many days later.

The heart breaking story of the late Arthur Oduma, who died in his apartment and stayed there for many days before being discovered by the police, came to the attention of many people across the globe through a breaking news story by AjabuAfrica.com.

It was emailed out to thousands of networked Kenyans and friends aimed at seeking to find anybody who might know the identity of the man and his next of kin.

The email story caught the attention of a Kenyan in Atlanta, Georgia who then emailed it to a friend in Kenya who recognized the name of the late Arthur Oduma and immediately emailed it back to Indiana to a friend who used to know Oduma.

As the friend, Mr. Geoffrey Kavulya set out to notify other Oduma’s next of kin and former classmates at the Notre Dame University in Indiana, the story was shot across the networks and immediately caught the attention of so many people who happened to Know the late Arthur .

Since then, it has emerged that the late Arthur Oduma was a tremendously humble, loving, kind person who went out of his way to help other people who he encountered and had various challenges.

The Chairmanof the Kenyan Pastors Fellowship in America, Bishop David Karaya ( left) introduces some of the other pastors who came to join hands with Kenyans to fundraise for the late Arthur Oduma. To the right of Bishop Karaya is Dr. Rev. Charles Karanja of PEFA, Rev. Samuel kimohu of St. Stephens Church in Lowell, Rev. Peter Maina and Bishop Joshua Wambua

Due to his nature as a very private and quiet individual, many people did not know the extent to which Arthur was involved in making a positive impact in many other people’s lives and not talking about it loudly.

But after the story of his sad death came out, all his friends were so saddened that they immediately organized themselves and deposited funds in a special holding account established by the organizing committee for the burial planning.

The committee was headed Mr. James Njuguna of Oasis of Love in Boston and coordinated by Bishop Joshua Wambua of Rapture Harvest Mission International of Cambridge, MA, where the body of the late Oduma was recovered.

AjabuAfrica.com provided the communication platform for updates and access to the account to deposit funds.
As a result, during a final fund raising event at the Rapture Harvest Mission International Church at the Kennedy Longfellow School in Cambridge, MA, it was reported that about $10,000 was deposited into that account by Oduma’s former workmates at the Morning Star, members if the Alliance Network and Oduma’s friends and Kenyan Community in Chicago as well as the alumni of the Notre Dame University in Indiana where Arthur graduated with an MBA in 2003..

Members of the Kenyan Community in Massachusetts raised over $15000 on the spot at the fund rising on Sunday. They were led by Bishop Joshua Wambua of Rapture Harvest Mission International who also together with his wife provided a meeting point in his house in Medford as a base for daily prayers, contributions and planning.

Other Kenyans who could not make it to Cambridge for the fundraiser sent their donations through their church pastors who showed up in a commendable sign of unity and Christ like community service for a person they had never known nor seen.

Rev. Samuel Kimohu of St. Stephen’s Church in Lowell brought a hefty donation from his members, so did Dr. Rev Mumbui Karimi of PCEA Ushindi Church in Lowell and Rev. Peter Gachathi of St. Paul’s Community Church in Lawrence. Other pastors who brought donations were Dr. Rev. Charles Karanja of Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship in America (PEFA) while Rev. Joseph Waiyaki of Faith Service Ministries sent a donation as he could not make it.

Mr. Patrick Kaba brought a big donation from the members of the Kenyan Catholic Church who had earlier held a memorial mass for the late Oduma held at the Sacred Heart Church in North Quincy, MA. The mass was conducted by Father Ikunza together with Father Komu. Father Ikunza is from Kenya and is currently in Boston on a brief tour.

Continue here