We treat but God heals - Visit to Shelter of Hope

An update from Grev following his recent trip to Kenya, where he was able to visit the project Shelter of Hope. Find the full report below of the different ministries Shelter of Hope are offering in the local community.

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Clinic

The purpose was to see the medical facility that they have established in Kagan. It consists of a consulting room, maternity room and a small pharmacy and to serve the local community. It is a government approved primary care facility and is currently staffed by a nurse, but no doctor. The most common cases they deal with are malaria and maternal issues. Anything that they cannot deal with are referred to another government facility in Kisii.

Medical campWhile I was there they organised a medical camp which they do from time to time. Some government staff from Kisii came for the day to see as many people as they could. Word had gone round and a good crowd came to be seen. While they waited the pastor and I had the opportunity to share the gospel with them.

Challenges

The main challenge that they face is staffing on a couple of levels.

They are unable to keep the staff they have for very long as they want to move on to a facility that is in the urban areas, which means there is a lack of consistency in the level of care as it takes time to get any new staff up to speed and, just as they do start to make a difference, they move on.
Ideally they would have at least 2 or 3 nurses and a doctor at the level of facility that they are registered as, but the resources are not available from the government and they do not have the funds to do it independently.

Future plans

SOH have plans to improve the services they offer. They have started building a laboratory but do not have the funds to complete, equip and staff it. Also, they would like to move the clinic across the road, as and when funds allow.

Other Ministries

I was shown a number of other ministries that take place on the same site. The church also serves the same community. There is a school of around 250 children, which has shown real improvement in results since the appointment of a new Head Teacher. The buildings are only half finished and awaiting further funds to enable them to be completed. There is, also, a women empowerment ministry to give the women the ability to earn some income.

Mamboleo ClinicWe then drove to another part of their ministry, which is just outside of Kisumu where they have been given a half-finished clinic. As we walked around it was exciting to hear the vision they have to finish it and use it to reach out and care for the local community where there is no primary care provision. They will need significant funds to make this dream become a reality. The first step is to get part of it into a usable state so they can hold a medical camp in the autumn.

NairobiFollowing a night drive back to Nairobi, I had the privilege of going to Victory Church where Ishmael pastors in the Kiambu slum of Nairobi. It was great to join with them in worshipping God, even though we are so different. We heard an amazing testimony from a Muslim lady who had come to trust God for herself the week before and witnessed the change that had taken place in her life. I then had the honour of sharing God’s Word with them.