"Kenyans who go to Canada Don't Come Back!" ?

News & Politics
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[SIZE=7]Canadian Politicians Protest as Dead Kenyan is Billed, Ksh59 Million[/SIZE]
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[li]By DERRICK OKUBASU on 15 March 2022 - 4:10 pm[/li]
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A side-by-side image of Tevin Obiga playing for Harambee Stars (l) and the footballer at St Boniface Hospital in Canada.
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A section of Canadian politicians is now demanding a raft of reforms after the family of a deceased Kenyan who was hospitalized in the North American country was slapped with a Ksh59 million ($517,764) bill.

The deceased, Tevin Obiga, a Harambee Stars Player, passed away on Thursday, March 3 after being hospitalized in Winnipeg, Canada.

Obiga had been diagnosed with blastomycosis - a fungal infection that affects the lungs. He was a fourth-year computer engineering student.

On Thursday, March 10, St. Boniface Hospital presented his Kenyan family with the bill to foot for his treatment.

https://www.kenyans.co.ke/files/styles/article_inner_mobile/public/images/media/Capture_470.JPG?itok=IToUFUP_
Tevin Obiga, a Harambee Stars player who passed away in Canada.

Liberal politicians from Manitoba are now pushing the government to re-instate health coverage for international students to cater for their hospital bills.

Speaking to CBC, a media outlet in Canada, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont argued that it was not humane for the international students seeking medical services.

He also wants Obiga’s bill to be waived noting that some students pay hundreds of millions of dollars and deserve decent health coverage.

"There’s no reason for it to be cut, and it’s really causing astonishing misery. This is not a humane way of doing things. This is not how Manitoba or Canada should act.

“It’s a pretty low price to pay to make sure that students from abroad who study in Manitoba, who bring hundreds of millions of dollars with them, actually can get health care coverage when they need it,” he stated.

The leader of the African Community in Manitoba Uche Nwankwo noted that the bill was beyond the ability of the Kenyan family to pay.

“There is no way that this amount of money can be paid — not even a scratch of it. We’re talking about $550,000 … If you convert that to Kenyan shillings, I don’t know who will be able to afford that. It’s just ridiculous and unimaginable,” Nwankwo explained.

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Tevin Obiga, before flying to Canada

The family is still raising funds to fly the body of their kin to Kenya for burial.

Obiga passed away a week after his mother, Lilian Ndiego, had secured a flight ticket to Canada to check up on him.

“I was disappointed because they informed me that most Kenyans who go to Canada don’t come back,” Ndiego stated at the time.

Meanwhile…In The US:

[SIZE=7]US Army Celebrates Kenyan Who Became Combat Medic in Just 4 Months[/SIZE]
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[li]By BRIAN KIMANI on 15 March 2022 - 2:48 pm[/li]
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/files/styles/article_style_mobile/public/images/media/Capture_469.JPG?h=5c15136f&itok=Jv8r2rem
Joshua Omwenga, a combat medic in the 444th Minimal Care Detachment unit of the US Army., poses for a photo.
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Joshua Omwenga’s aspirations of joining the army were but a distant dream until they came to fruition. Omwenga, a Kenyan, is currently serving as a combat medic with the 444th Minimal Care Detachment unit in the US military.

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Members of the US Army walking at an airport.

According to the US Army official website, Omwenga’s story is a testament to the sheer desire and effort to join the forces.

The Western Kenya native worked as a school teacher before his Green Card was approved, offering him the opportunity to travel to the United States of America (USA).

Omwenga’s extensive background in Biology led him to work as a laboratory technician in the USA. He, however, decided to extend his career and expand his skills by joining the US army.

In just four months, he was dispatched to the 444th Minimal Care Detachment unit as a combat medic.

His ambitions to become a healthcare provider in the military meant that he could help others both in his home country and overseas.

Currently, he has enrolled in providing medical support for Exercise Justified Accord 2022 in Isiolo, Kenya. The international training event focuses on building relationships between nations partnered with the USA as well as honing their skills.

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U.S. Air Force, airmen from the 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron conduct a flag-raising ceremony at Camp Simba, Manda Bay, Kenya

The soldier is part of the 800 representatives that are taking part in the exercise. According to multiple international publications, the average monthly salary for a combat medic ranges from Ksh400,000 to Ksh638,000.

Omwenga continues to use his skills in order to aid the worrying situation within various counties in the North and Eastern regions.

“Over time, there are things you find yourself wishing you could do. I was wishing that someday I would contribute to the stability and security in this region and I’m here today. At least I can say I made my mark here and can move on to the next thing,” he stated.

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Nikiland huko sirudi walai. Nikuongeza tumasomo na kutafuta mbesha.

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I don’t understand what she means by that. Sad story though, they probably scrapped coverage cuz they assume international students are wealthy. Some of them are filthy rich but not all

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From my experience, Arabs and Asians international students are the one’s who are loaded asf. Latinos (majority) and Africans (almost all) are the “poorest” and survive through financial aid.

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Staying without an health insurance out there is pretty risky. I also don’t understand how or why he was without a health insurance but again I’m not familiar with Manitoba provincial health regulations/policies. I would have assumed that anyone who’s a legal resident of Manitoba should be able to access a provincial health insurance program as is the case in Alberta including international students … seems like that’s not the case tho’.
During my time in collage out in the Maritimes, the university provided health insurance coverage to all international students, and was structured as part of the tuition fee. So assuming that Manitoba doesn’t provide health coverage for international students, it’s still the responsibility of universities to ensure that their students have some type of health insurance cover. Not sure what’s not adding up here. Anyaway What’s ur experience. May he RIP “Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un - Verily we belong to him and verily to him do we return.”

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400k-638k hata ikiwa net is obviously peanuts majuu. The guy cant come back for the same reason most people who go to the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada never come back. They earn just enough to sustain them there but not enough for them to retire here.

If the same person earns a lumpsum ($1M), which is not from a fixed business over there that would limit his mobility, there is a 99% chance he would come back to Kenya haraka sana. After all, why live like a normie, in a racist country, when you can live like a king in your country?

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Wrong…the ones I know here in the UK do not come from poor backgrounds. They have double barrelled names. As for financial aid you will have a vvvvv long day especially if you are an undergraduate!!!
Most undergraduate Kenyan students hurry back home to some cushy high profile jobs courtesy of their parents…others even quit halfway and opt to complete their studies back home…‘can’t cope with the weather, loneliness’ and all that.

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I’m not familiar with what goes on in Manitoba either. Good point, I’d totally forgotten about it but my old uni had health insurance too, I have citizenship so I was a domestic student but it was automatic for us too, you had to opt out if you didn’t want it. It covered the stuff like prescription meds, dental, vision, etc that healthcare doesn’t cover but I’ve checked and the international student version of it also covers the basic stuff and provides similar coverage to government healthcare - X-rays, doctors fees, surgeries, etc. It says it’s mandatory for all international students at my uni. There must be info missing from the article, RIP indeed

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I’ve experienced the same, some African international students have money as well and come from top families. Arabs and Asians steal the show cuz the money they have is ridiculous, they show up on campus with lamborghinis and designer everything

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Trudat. Posh rich parts of London are owned by Arabs…and some of the richest and most thomed immigrants are Asians.

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Africans (almost all) are the “poorest” and survive through financial aid.
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Aiii that is not true. 99% of International students in Europe America Australia etc come from wealthy backgrounds.

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Aiii that is not true. 99% of International students in Europe America Australia etc come from wealthy backgrounds.
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RIP to the departed student. It is painful to lose a relative; and even more painful to be slapped with such a huuuge bill. The simplest way out for the family is to pledge to pay 100 shs a month towards the bill and simply state that is all they can afford. The hospital must send them the bill to be able to file it as a loss. They know that almost 90 percent of regular Canadians wold not afford that, let alone a ref=gular person from Kenya