Letter from Wuhan: Let’s learn from the Chinese

My name is Richard Odongo Odol. I am currently a post-graduate student at Wuhan Textile University (WTU), pursuing a master’s degree in software engineering.

I am writing this letter to you my brothers a sisters at home in Kenya. I read unfolding stories about the situation at home and it’s saddening. This is a letter of hope. Things will be fine, we just have to pull together.

I joined this university on October 19, 2018 as a Chinese Government Scholarship student after emerging tops in an interview that was conducted online via WeChat.

The beginning of the outbreak found me at the ICU of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, having been admitted to seek emergency treatment for an inflammation on my pancrease. This condition got me holed up in hospital for 52 days.

My ward mates and I would get periodic updates about the outbreak of COVID-19 on a television provided for us. After my admission, for a short period before the outbreak, my teacher, Ma’am Alicia and my student leader Bayazid Shaun were with me every step of the way, providing moral and material support.

Shortly afterwards, the state of emergency was declared and lockdown procedures were implemented by the local government. This stopped their frequent visits to my ward although we maintained communication through social media. WTU leaders and teachers were also in communication with my hospital, family, embassies in Nairobi and Beijing, the medical insurance company and Rongo University in Kenya which sponsored me to China. I have been receiving a lot of attention and care from different quarters including my countrymen (and women) in Kenya. I am truly grateful for all the kindness.

News then spread fast across the globe coupled with the periodic updates by the World Health Organisation. In a short while, my entire family had known that I was in the ICU in a foreign land and more so at the epicenter of the outbreak of the dreaded COVID-19. They didn’t just get worried, they were terrified.

At a personal level, I was a bit scared because the specialists were saying that this was a new strain of the coronavirus never before detected either in humans or animals. That meant that there was no immediate treatment once infected. On the other hand, I was fascinated by the prospects of new discoveries being made by medical researchers concerning the cure and development of a possible vaccine. I was also constantly reminding my family that China had advanced in medical science and that soon they would be done with the scourge.

As we speak, we have witnessed a massive reduction in infection and fatality rates.

During this entire period, the resilience, patience and love demonstrated by Chinese people toward each other and toward foreigners made a deep positive impression in my heart. Their oneness of purpose was exhibited when the local government swiftly ordered lockdown procedures to be instituted. Within no time, the populace disappeared behind closed doors in obedience to the instructions issued by the government, if only but to combat the spread of the dreaded virus. These were human traits I first witnessed in hospital when family members of my fellow patients offered me assistance when they noticed I was incapacitated due to my illness. It is a character that seemed embodied by most Chinese nationals I met.

After the local government declares an official return to normalcy, I intend to resume my studies and graduate in a few months. I still have some pending hospital bills to clear. I need help. Importantly, I have derived lessons from the spread of this scourge such as the unity of purpose of an entire nation to stand against an enemy of mankind, the discipline and professionalism in approaching problem solving and the critical role that the media should play responsibly in forging a common front against a common enemy of mankind.

Together we stand, divide we fall!

Richard was partly sponsored by Rongo University to study in China. rodongo@rongovarsity.ac.ke