Kortnay had to be as terrified as she was courageous when she made the decision to leave her husband. The thought of what lay ahead of her and the prospect of how her life would turn out though had convinced her to make the break now rather than later. She had seen it all before, how women in her situation had been treated, virtual slaves, beaten, and almost worked to death. She had to do something, her whole life was ahead of her so she secretly devised her plan.         She had heard good things about the assistant chief who worked in Sigor a couple of days walk from where she was. She would make her break stealthily, and quickly without raising suspicion lest her husband were tipped off by one of his friends. As an elder he was well known in the district so she knew she would be severely punished if she disgraced him by running away, she only had one chance.

Don and Kortnay

But now, hiding under cover, alone in the thick thorny bushes she second guessed herself over and over. The sun overhead was hot and the bush offered little shade. Every little sound startled her, every goat grazing the shrubs made her heart race lest the herder were close at hand. She had made it to Philips house, the assistant chief, and he was as good a man as the stories she had heard about him had portrayed him to be and perhaps even more so. But she hadn’t really thought about the next step, what would happen after she had reached the safe sanctuary of his home. Philip and his wife had five children and times were very difficult with the famine setting in and getting more severe by the day, even for a man in Philips position. So desperate had she been to get away that she hadn’t even considered what might happen if Philip hadn’t taken her in. Now, alone she had time to ponder these things. She had to spend the daytime hours hiding in the bush before she could return to the haven of Philips house after dark, undetected. A tear rolled down her cheek, she looked up and whispered, “God, please help me”.

Kortnay's Smile

Kortney can be forgiven for not thinking things through too thoroughly and for having an over simplified and somewhat naive plan. Indeed, it’s probably best that it was. After all, she is only fourteen and the husband she had fled from would have surely been savvy enough to realize she was up to something having lived in this same bushland all of his sixty plus years. He had paid a hefty price for her dowry, twenty six goats and fourteen cows and although he was rich, such a price was a considerable amount. She tried not to think about such things, it scared her, instead she thought about what had happened on her ‘wedding night’ and her resolve returned, she couldn’t be wrong, God would protect her somehow.         God was already at work answering her prayers although she didn’t know it. A meeting had been arranged by my friend Samuel for my friends Don, Phil and I to attend, with the District Commissioner (D.C.), the District Education Officer (D.E.O) and the Chief of Pokot’s Sigor district. We had left early that morning and embarked on the three hour teeth chattering drive on the corrugated road to keep the appointment we had been promised. We had business to discuss with these men regarding operating arrangements for the children’s home in Runo. We had our plan and this was the chance we had been waiting for to present it.

Kortney's Dorm

By now I’ve become used to God trashing my plans before they get off the ground but he usually waits until I’ve at least got out of the vehicle. So I must admit I was a trifle miffed when we arrived in Sigor to be informed by Samuel that neither the D.C. the D.E.O or the Chief were around but the assistant chief would be happy to meet with us and would be sure to brief his superiors on the items discussed during our meeting. Not having anyone better to vent my frustrations on I headed the car for the chief’s office and pulled up outside in a cloud of dust. I stepped out of the vehicle and was greeted with a larger than life smile by Philip, the assistant chief whom I instantly recognized although I couldn’t quite place where we had met. However, I remembered he had been a reasonable and quite likeable guy when we had met before so I didn’t want to come across as being too harsh, much to Samuel’s relief. Before I knew it we were sitting on the wooded benches surrounding a wobbly table in Philip’s office and actually making headway in our negotiations over the children’s home. Philip, aware of the problems we have been facing with the operation of the home had actually had been waiting for me to approach him for assistance.

Ms Jennifer, Kortney's teacher

“Two things I care about Philip” I said as our conversation progressed, “I want those kids to feel secure and to be cared for but also they must hear about the gospel, that’s what’s important”. The thought occurred to me as I muttered the words or rather a picture flashed into my mind. The clinic building in Runo we had built the foundation for before abandoning the idea when insecurity set in would now become a church building. I glanced across the table at Don and proposed the idea. He nodded in agreement, Philip concurred, and I began to get excited.

“What about security for the girls as they grow older”, I asked Philip. “We all know what happens around here with FGM, how can we protect them against mutilation and forced marriages thereafter?”         Now Philip became excited and spoke with even more passion than he had been. “In fact, I am very against this practice by our people Mr. Paul and I’m heavily involved in trying to change the situation. If fact, right now, staying with me at my house, there is a fourteen year old girl who ran away from a forced marriage. She has been with us for five days but I have no means to care for her. She needs to be taken to a safe place”.         He pushed back his chair and pulled out a letter from a drawer, “I have just been preparing this letter to send out to anyone I can think of who might help”.         “I know of a boarding school who take in rescued girls in such cases”. Samuel said, “I can check there, it’s about fifty miles from here, she would be safe there”.         “How much would it cost” I asked Samuel as I picked up the letter to read it.         “About 5000 shillings a term or 15000 shillings per year”, Samuel replied.         Again I glanced over at Don, again he nodded, “that’s a no brainer”, he said, “two hundred bucks”!         ‘In the matter of Kortnay Kusona’, the letter began. Don has a daughter at home named Courtney, now he has one in Africa also. She stays at a boarding school for brave and courageous young girls in need of rescue from selfish old men and mutilation. She has a beautiful smile, and she, like all God’s children, is in His grasp.