Message from Friends Church in Kenya; By Bishop Zablon Malenge

Friends Hospital Kaimosi began in 1903 as a simple first aid facility by Quaker missionaries who had been sent to Kenya by Friends United Meeting who had arrived in August 1902 and established a mission station at Kaimosi. Medical care was one of the four main objectives the missionaries enumerated as basic needs of the Africans. These were: Gospel message, Industrial technical training, clothing and medical care.
The medical service was delayed until Dr. Blackburn arrived in 1903 when the dispensary was began in a grass thatched structure . In 1912 a second doctor Dr. A.B Estock joined the medical team at Kaimosi. He doubled up as a dentist because he had trained in dentistry. He proved to be very useful because dentists could only be found in Nairobi .
In 1917 the hospital’s construction was almost finished. In 1918 one ward was sufficiently finished to allow the admission of patients.
No beds were available so the patients slept on mats on the floor. By 1925 a small maternity wing was constructed hence the hospital had an inpatient capacity for 35. In 1932 a 16 bed maternity ward was completed which also accommodated girl dressers. Another hospital was started at Lugulu, Bungoma in the same year. Epileptics were much neglected in African society so huts were built for these people near the hospital where they could live in security and receive medical care.
In 1928 several other dispensaries were started at Malava, Vihiga, Lirhanda, Chavakali, Musingu and Chwele. More doctors and nurses arrived from USA. Being the only hospital in western Kenya , Kaimosi Hospital begun to receive an increased number of Indians who came for treatment at this hospital. Laboratory works began to be conducted at this hospital in the 1920s and by 1937 the number of beds at this hospital had increased to 65 and by 1942 the hospital had 80 beds for in patient.
The story of medical development at Kaimosi is revealed in the statistical table covering a forty five year period,
By 1947 the hospital had grown to over a 130 bed hospital which was recognized as a leading hospital in the East and Central African region with a school of nursing. A school of nursing was commenced in 1953.
As the hospital continued to expand, construction of new buildings for additional wards began which included a Tuberculosis (T.B) ward ,the only one of its kind in Kenya .It was during this time just before the end of 1957 that a laboratory ,a theatre and a second storey building were constructed together with a new kitchen and laundry unit .X-ray and electrocardiograph machines were procured and a blood bank maintained.
The expansion generated interest among Friends faithfuls in England ,Germany and America who set up an international work camp to assist in material and labor for the construction and used corrugated asbestos sheets for roofing. This hospital became the largest mission hospital in Kenya and one of the best equipped in its clinical services.
In 1946 East Africa Yearly meeting gained independence from The FUM mission board and became governing and self -sustaining. In 1963 the mission board handed over the legal title and operational management of all church related institutions .The first president of Kenya Mzee Jomo Kenyatta opened the modern hospital building in 1965.
Unfortunately the hospital subsequently underwent a 30year period of rough history which culminated in a perpetual lack of investment, rendering it incapable of providing quality health care to the community .The hospital lost glory which it had attained .A nursing school which had been established in 1953 was closed in 1996 and has not been reopened yet.
It is noteworthy that from 1973 the Friends Church in East Africa was experiencing internal conflict along local and regional yearly meetings, which affected the hospital adversely. In 198, the Kenyan government appointed a Commission to manage the hospital. During the time of the Commission, the situation of the hospital deteriorated.
The full control of the hospital reverted to East Africa Yearly meeting (EAYM) in 1997. By the time the hospital had not only deteriorated extensively but also and it was heavily indebted to suppliers .
In 2006 the East Africa yearly meeting entered into a memorandum of understanding with friends united meeting of USA for the management and restoration of the hospital .Significant investment and improvement had been made yet the need for further work continued to be pressing, FUM took over the operations of the hospital at a time when its services had been run down. The challenge of funding both for medical support, infrastructural repairs due and purchase of equipment persisted even after FUM.
The hospital continued to experience pressing challenges during its administration by Friends United meeting. In 2012 Friends Church in Kenya was concerned about the Hospital’s poor performance and approached the National Council of Churches of Kenya with a proposal for inclusion of Friends Hospital Kaimosi into the Jumuia Hospitals project and business plan.
The Executive Committee of NCCK subsequently approved the request and a Memorandum of Understanding was drawn and signed hence the establishment of Jumuia Friends Hospital Kaimosi.
NCCK has marshalled the resources needed for modernization and equipping of Jumuia Friends Hospital to a totally new level that in its history it has never even approximated.
The Friends Church is very happy with this partnership and appreciate the diligence and resolve that have been applied to bring it to its current status. We can only appeal to the community in the former Western province, neighbouring North Rift and Nyanza counties, to patronize it and benefit from the new wide range of services now available.