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enlarged view. |
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This is Kijabe Medical Center. |
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It is a 200-bed mission hospital located about
40 miles northwest of Nairobi. |
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The word "kijabe" is Maasai and means
"place of the winds." It is situated on an escarpment overlooking the Rift
Valley, which you can see in this picture. At 7,500 feet above sea-level, it is above the
elevation where malaria-transmitting mosquitoes are normally found. Before medications to
prevent and treat malaria, this was the only practical location for a hospital. Early
missionaries with AIM established an outpost here a century ago, and Kijabe remains a
center for mission activity in Kenya.
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Kijabe Medical Center serves a large, rural area
populated by members of many different tribal groups, each with its own distinct language
and culture. The Maasai shown here are nomadic herdsmen who have been difficult to reach
using traditional church-planting strategies. |
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The purpose of the medical ministry at Kijabe in
not just to heal physical bodies but to bring patients into a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. The chapel shown in this picture is used to hold
worship services. The chaplaincy staff are able to devote full time to evangelism and
discipleship, in addition to the Christian witness of medical staff. |
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These two mothers are Maasai. Over 1800 babies
are delivered per year at Kijabe, assisted by midwives or family medicine doctors. Kim
will be the first full-time obstetrician. |
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This patient is being taken to the operating
room. There are a number of general and orthopedic surgeons at Kijabe, and together they
do over 3,000 operations per year. Kim will contribute expertise in gynecological surgery. |
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This is the hospital laboratory, which provides
essential support services for medical care. Nate’s father, Dr. Jerry Smith, will be
coming out to Kijabe in the summer of 1999 to help with the pathology lab. Nate’s
training is in internal medicine, public health, and infectious diseases, especially
HIV/AIDS. |
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An important aspect of our work in Kenya will be
training and discipling young Kenyan doctors. The man on the right is Dr. Tim Fader,
medical director at Kijabe. On the left is one of the Kenyan interns serving his first
year after medical school at Kijabe. Beginning in 1999, Kijabe Medical Center will expand
its teaching role by starting a 4-year Family Medicine residency program. This training
program will equip Christian Kenyan physicians to effectively serve in rural mission or
church-based hospitals and clinics. Preparation for service involves more than just the
transfer of medical knowledge. We hope to have spiritual input into the lives of these
trainees. |
