The most important part of observing this day is a moment of silence that occurs at 8:46am Eastern time. This is when the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. This is a time of prayer and remembrance of the victims who lost their lives in the terrible attack. It is also a time to reflect on freedom as well as the heroes who gave their lives saving others. Each year on Patriot Day, American flags are flown at half-staff to honor and commemorate those lives lost.

In the book titled, 14 Cows for America, written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez, we learn about the touching story of a native of Kenya, Kimeli Naiyomah who was in New York City on September 11, 2001. Kimeli returns to his homeland and tells the members of his Maasai tribe a story that “burned a hole in his heart.” As a child in the small Kenyan village of the Maasai, Naiyomah’s biggest dream was to one day own a cow, a symbol of life to his people. He decided to offer his beloved cow to the grieving Americans as an expression of his sympathy. In similar gestures, his tribe offered more cows, fourteen in all…a moving gesture of compassion and generosity.

Before you read the book below learn how to pronounce words that appear in the book.

Facts

• The 14 Cows The cows live in their home village of Enoosaen in Kenya. The original fourteen cows have multiplied, and there are now thirty-five “American cows,” as the village children call them. They are tended by Mzee Olé Yiampoi, a revered elder who is the custodian of tribal sacred knowledge about ritual and traditions. Olé Yiampoi was chosen by the elders to tend the cows because of his long-standing reputation as a trustworthy and deeply faithful man. The American cows are not isolated by themselves, but rather they live mixed with Olé Yiampoi’s cattle.
• The Maasai brand their cattle by making small slices in their ears. Each clan has their own special earmark for identifying their cattle, and every cow bears an earmark on both ears. The American cows needed an earmark of their own, so the Maasai charged American ambassador Ranneberger with designing the earmark. When Ranneberger visted Emanyatta, the sacred warrior camp of Enoosaen, for a ceremony honoring the graduation of the Ilmeseyieki/Iltalala warriors and the presentation of the fourteen cows, the elders approached him. They brought out a cowhide and drew shapes of ears on the cowhide with charcoal. Kimeli remembers presenting it to the ambassador, saying, “Now you represent your people. You are the elder of the Americans, you decide what earmark the American cows will have from now [until] forever.” After careful consideration, the ambassador hit upon the simple image of the twin towers. Now each new American cow is branded with two small upright bars on each ear representing the twin towers.
• “The gift of cows was a gift of life…people lost their lives in New York, but we have animals that are living that represent the … remembrance of those people, and because the cows will keep multiplying, life continues, doesn’t stop, … We decided that when you educate a child, it gives the child knowledge and a better life… and that life is passed on and on and on through many generations.” —Kimeli Naiyomah on the American Maasai high school
• The American embassy was so touched by the Maasai’s selfless gift of compassion that they decided to find a way to give back. After consulting with Kimeli and the tribal elders, the American embassy agreed to sponsor fourteen revolving scholarships to be given to Maasai teens (selected by village elders) to attend a Maasai high school for four years. A high school education is a tremendous gift for these students, many of whom would be unable to continue their education without scholarships. Even Kimeli’s high school education was sponsored by a kind headmaster at a local school who found a scholarship for the promising young student. Kimeli will be taking over the scholarship himself as part of the American African Nuru Foundation1 when the four years of funding promised by the American embassy runs up this fall.

To learn more go to 14 Cows For America​