Kenneth Korayi Memorial

Last week we received the sad news that a good friend and community leader, Kenneth Korayi, had died after a long battle with cancer.  Kenneth was a former director of the Mundri Relief and Development Association, and in many other ways provided remarkable leadership in the service of his community.  I would often go to him for advice and spent many fruitful hours discussing the needs and opportunities for development. 

I preached a sermon recently about wisdom and creativity using the account of Solomon in I Kings 3-4.  I talked about Kenneth as an example of a modern day Solomon who was wise in areas of science, politics, economics, architecture, building, project management and who used that wisdom to serve the community and to glorify God.

Thousands of people came from the local community and from elsewhere in South Sudan to honor the life of Kenneth and to mourn his passing.  He was buried in front of the county office.  In the last months of his life, Kenneth formed a foundation to facilitate improved science education in South Sudan through training of teachers and provision of scholarships for science students.  I would like to recruit a science teacher to help implement this vision.

We are sad and shocked and wonder why Kenneth was taken from us.  We can only pray that, just as a seed dies and is buried and multiplies, many others will be inspired by Kenneth’s example and serve with wisdom and courage and passion as he did.  We pray for comfort for the friends and family, particularly Kenneth’s wife, Janet and their three children.  May Kenneth rest in peace and rise again in the glory of the new creation.