The road to Sopel is not really a road. It is a suggestion cut into the cracked land of Turkana County, where it has not rained in months. So, how do you get there with a team of twelve veterinarians and all their equipment?
Story by Hillim Gitonga
For the team from Veterinarians with a Mission Programme (VMP), that ‘road’ was never really an option. Mission Aviation Fellowship flew them from Nairobi to Sopel instead, carrying them, their medicine for the animals and their message for the people.
We are grateful for the partnership we have with MAF. We were able to travel for two hours instead of 18 hours.
VMP founder Dr Josiah Mandieka was part of the team.
“MAF helped us get to Sopel in time,” he said. “If we would have travelled by road, we would have gotten here tired and would have needed time before we started working on the animals.”
Before VMP arrived, however, drought had gotten to the area first. Pastoralist families had scattered with their herds in search of pasture and water. For the first two days, the animals that came to be treated were few—and their owners wary. The team waited and worked with those who came.
William Etiiton is not only a pastoralist himself, but a pastor in the local area from Love and Truth Church.
I heard that the VMP team was coming back to Sopel and I was the first to bring my animals to get the drugs.
This was the second time VMP was returning to Sopel since their previous visit two years ago.
The reason why I’ve brought my animals again is because the other time they were treated, all my animals were healthy
It being a dry season, people requested their animals be treated at dawn before they went to look for pasture and the sun became too hot. So, for the rest of the week, the team would start their day at 5:30 AM so that they could treat as many animals as they could.
It did not take long. A goat treated for pink eye, a camel relieved of a wound left to fester too long, a round of deworming that changed an animal’s condition. By the third morning, herders were arriving from further out, having heard from their neighbours that the veterinarians were real and their medicine worked.
By the time the eight days ended, a staggering 5,794 animals had been treated. These included goats, sheep and camels.
The mission was not only about livestock. Each evening, the community gathered for prayer and worship. During this time, 77 people gave their lives to Christ and 49 of them were baptised.
Among those who welcomed the team was Stephen Lengor, a pastoralist from Sopel whose herds had suffered through months without rain. For him, the team’s visit meant more than treatment for his animals.
I want to say thank you to the team for coming to Sopel and helping us spread the gospel of Christ in this area.
Two motorcycles were delivered to local pastors before the team left. These were meant to help them reach scattered congregations as well as support veterinary follow-up visits across the rough terrain.
The community still needs clean water and a resident veterinarian. But something has already changed since MAF flew the team to Sopel: Livestock are healthier. Community elders, like Stephen, have opened the door for the team to return. And new believers are waiting to be discipled.
