Edgar was a former employee of the Nairobi Buddhist Temple. Several years ago he worked as a security guard and Bhante Wimala knew him during that time. Recently, Edgar came to the temple to meet with Bhante and ask for his help. Edgar was in tears and asked if Bhante would help him pay a medical bill for his wife.
In Kenya, when you go to the hospital and receive medical care they will not let you leave the hospital until the medical bill is paid. They will keep the patient and will refuse to let the patient out of the hospital until the medical bill is paid in full. It sounds strange, but it is true.
That is exactly what happened to Edgar’s wife, Juliet. Juliet had a baby several days before Edgar came to meet with Bhante. After delivering the baby, Juliet was not allowed to leave the hospital because Edgar could not raise the money to pay the medical bill. To make matters more difficult, each day she was kept in the hospital her bill was going up because they add the extra cost for each day.
Upon hearing Edgar’s story, Bhante immediately sent a representative to inquire and verify the details. To Bhante’s surprise Juliet was being held in the maternity ward with the newborn baby and would not be released until the bill was paid. Juliet was pleading for help to pay the bill so that she could go home with the baby. The next day Bhante was able arrange to pay the hospital bill and get her released from the hospital.
A few days later the father, mother and the baby came to the temple to thank Bhante and express their gratitude. Let us all remember to do small things that make a big difference in the life of someone that we know or even of a stranger that we have never met.
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