B.C. missionaries badly beaten in Kenya

Elderly couple 'sold everything' to help widows, orphans

Kent Spencer, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008 - 2 hours ago


VANCOUVER - Two missionaries from Vernon, B.C., who were brutally beaten by thugs in Kenya, face a tough road when they return home.

John and Eloise Bergen had sold everything to make the trip and were without medical insurance, friend Alicia Chirkoff said Thursday.

"The Bergens are wonderful, fabulous people," Chirkoff said. "They were continuously


John Bergen, 70, and his wife Eloise Bergen, 66,
were both doing missionary work in Kenya.

Thugs wielding clubs and machetes attacked the couple in a home invasion on Wednesday. The Bergens had recently moved to their own house located about 10 kilometres away from their sponsoring organization, the Hope for the Nations non-profit society. They wanted to be nearer to widows and orphans in the city of Kitale, helping refugees who have fled a political crisis.

The assailants struck Bergen's skull, jaw, arm, knee and leg with their clubs. The 70-year-old was also severely cut with machetes. A broken knee and leg will require extensive surgery.

"They left him for dead in the bushes," said Ralph Bromley, president of the Hope society, which is based in Kelowna. "The brutality of it is very difficult to handle."

Eloise, 66, was tied up, assaulted, and pinned under a pile of furniture.

She later managed to free herself, found John and drove him to the Hope centre. The pair were treated at a local hospital and then air-lifted to Nairobi, Bromley added.

Although the locals are desperately poor, Bromley said it doesn't explain the viciousness of the assaults.

"Especially at their age, why can't the (thugs) just tie them up and take the stuff?" he asked.

Chirkoff, who spoke with Eloise by phone, said John "is not in great shape, but is going to survive."

The couple have two sons and two daughters. Son Josh, 20, and a nephew are flying to Nairobi to be with his parents.

Chirkoff said the couple sold their house, vehicle and furniture before departing.

The Bergens tried to buy medical insurance before leaving last March, but couldn't get any because of their ages.

They are relying on the B.C. medical plan to pay for hospital and air evacuation bills. "We don't know how much B.C. medical will pay," Chirkoff said, adding that the society has set up a process to make donations.

Chirkoff said Kenyan media report seven people have been arrested, included two security guards.

Bromley said the investigation is ongoing into how thieves got past the hired watchmen.

"The security guards sometimes get scared and run away. Or sometimes they open the gate. We don't know if this was an inside job," he said.

Five of the society's aid workers from B.C. were shocked as the Bergens pulled up after fleeing their attackers.

"They were drenched in blood. A Canadian medic had never seen anything like it. Our team was traumatized," said Bromley. "The family is deeply concerned and shaken. The amount of sympathy and support in Canada has been overwhelming."

Bergen, an experienced international aid worker originally from Alberta, has retired from the construction industry.

Eloise, an American from Georgia, has retired from teaching music.

They were teaching English and providing food to locals, who are hard-pressed by threefold increases in the prices of beans and corn.

"The poorest of the poor were around them. They are under tremendous stress," said Bromley.

He said the other Canadians' safety is not compromised because they live in a safer neighbourhood.

Reference Source

If this wasn't so sad, I would say "good fuh dem"!
White peope don't learn. Stay out of Africa.