The triumph of Mr. Michael Chege. ============================ Our companies Master Shipyard Limited (MSY) and LOTS Shipping Limited (LOTS) had been contracted by Dubai based Tristar Corporation to dry dock three barges and build two landing crafts on the River Nile in South Sudan. South Sudan is the world’s newest nation; the potent combination of politics and rich oil resources naturally make this a strife torn geography. LOTS and MSY personnel travelled frequently to Juba, the capital of South Sudan. In addition to the author, the LOTS CEO, Mr. Renjit Neluvelil and other engineers and workers traveled to and from Juba to the dry-docking site, Mangalla, on the banks of the River Nile, some 70 miles away. Though the drive from Juba to the site was never considered to be unsafe, leave alone dangerous, one day (May 14, 2013) the unthinkable happened. Six men ambushed the vehicle Renjit was traveling accompanied only by his driver, and opened fire. Renjit lost his life instantly with a solitary bullet entering his left thigh, and exiting his right shoulder. The driver, too was shot, but escaped with serious injuries, but managed to stay alive. This is his story. Mr. Chege was the driver of the rental car company from where our CEO Mr. Renjit had hired his car for his work in South Sudan. In the fatal incident of 4th May 2013 we lost our CEO Renjit. Though Mr. Chege barely got away with his life, he did lose his right eye and a significant part of his face due to the bullet which entered through his jaw and exited through his eye. Mike has been our driver in Juba for long and was never one to just contain his enthusiasm and exuberance to just driving us around including the almost daily 70 mile trips to our work site in Mangalla. He was a jack-of-all-trades and never hesitated to pitch in with his hands or feet or any other skill he possessed in any work we were doing or challenge we were confronted with in the challenging environment of Juba. I will not forget my first meeting with Mike in the hospital in Juba after the incident. The ward was a scene straight from hell and the smells and noises were overpowering for even the most hardened people. I knew I had to move Mike out fast before he succumbs to infection to the serious injuries he was suffering from on account of the conditions at the hospital. With great difficulty and intense intervention with the airlines, who were reluctant to take him as a passenger, we managed to move him to a hospital in Nairobi. With one eye and half his face gone Mike was facing a huge challenge in the Nairobi hospital. His limited financial resources and background did not allow him to even to try and seek out what it will cost to fix his face. On investigations it was found that the complete treatment and surgery would cost in excess of USD 40,000.00 in Nairobi. At this time LOTS/MSY felt another intervention was warranted and we investigated the possibility of bringing Mike to Kochi and get him fixed there, which in itself presented us with yet another set of challenges. It started with getting Mikes passport and visa, which required letters from hospitals and multiple calls to the consular officer in Nairobi. The hospitals in Kochi while keen were concerned about the medico legal aspects of the case. This was overcome with intervention from the highest levels at Lourdes hospital in Kochi. Mike arrived in Kochi airport for the first time on 7th June, which is more than 3 weeks after the incident. Now we are again faced with another unexpected, insurmountable challenge. The quarantine department in Kochi finds Mike has not completed the required 10 days of incubation period after his yellow fever injection. In spite of all our efforts Mike who is only on a liquid diet due to his jaw injuries is returned to Nairobi to wait out his required incubation period. Mike returned to Kochi on 19th June and faced further resistance in the hospital where he was to be admitted, the admissions went through and evaluations of his condition commenced with the team of doctors assigned. He was directly under the care of Maxillo Facial surgeon Dr. Ram Mohan and Plastic surgeon Dr. Chacko. After the evaluations and tests when Mike was to begin the surgical procedures he got hit by chicken pox - another very discouraging and disappointing setback. The medical team and the support team from LOTS/MSY took this again in their stride keeping the focus on the final goal of giving a new face and new life to Mike. The chicken pox infection was overcome in time and then Mike underwent multiple surgeries in Maxilllofacial and Plastic lasting from 2 hours to 8 hours each and each one getting us nearer to the goal of giving Mike as much normalcy as possible for his future. Today, we are on the last stretch with some minor work still remaining. The medical work has been phenomenal and educative for me personally. The LOTS/MSY team took this challenge along with the multiple other challenges on their plate in their stride. I must particularly mention Dr. Rammohan, Dr. Chacko, Mr. Joseph K.P and Santhosh from LOTS who led this initiative. This story further exemplifies the compelling need at LOTS/MSY to take on challenges and our history has enough proof of this need and the delivery on these challenges we had taken on. And lastly this is what our colleague Renjit would have wanted us to do as a minimum in his memory.
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:52:49 +0000
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