Amira and Amara were just 10-month-old twins when they were admitted to our hospital, each weighing less than 5kg (11 lbs), placing them below the 1% curve for growth and development. At their age, a normal weight is around 18 lbs. Upon evaluation, it was evident that the twins were malnourished due to a lack of food and their premature birth at 33 weeks.

Their mother, Selly, struggles to feed herself and her children. She lives with her mother, who suffers from arthritis and is unable to farm to provide food for the family. Selly’s sister works a side job in Kapsowar, earning only 4,000 shillings a month (about $1 a day), which is insufficient to cover expenses and food for the three adults and four children in their household.

The twins’ father is an alcoholic and has abandoned the family, refusing to send even small amounts for necessities like diapers or milk. Due to Selly’s own poor nutrition, she has been unable to produce enough breastmilk, leading to further feeding challenges for the girls. This situation has been a source of great stress and discouragement for Selly.

Our social work team at the hospital identified that the malnutrition of both the mother and the twins was due to poverty and the complex social situation at home. The family was unable to afford the $585 bill accumulated during their two-week hospital stay. Thanks to donor funds, we were able to cover this bill. Our social work team was committed to ensuring Selly didn’t return home facing the same hardships, so they visited the family several weeks later.

With the support of donor funds, our social work team provided the family with a month’s worth of food and educated Selly on the required daily feedings. Understanding that Selly’s poor nutrition likely affected her breastmilk production, the team agreed to supply formula for the twins’ first year of life, provided Selly continued to weigh the children every two weeks and report their weight for monitoring. Formula is very expensive in Kapsowar, costing $15 per can, which lasts only two weeks. For many families, this cost is prohibitive. 

Donor funds help make this essential nutritional supplement available for twins like Amira and Amara.

Selly also expressed a need for clothes for the twins and help with the cost of health insurance for the next year ($11 to sign up and $2.50 a month). We were able to fulfill these needs through donor funds.

Since April, our hospital’s social work team has continued to monitor the twins’ weight and support the family. While they still face significant challenges, our team is committed to finding solutions to improve the family’s food supply and overall health. We are profoundly grateful for the generosity of our donors. Your contributions have a transformative impact, enabling us to provide critical care and support to families like Selly’s. Thank you for making a difference in their lives.

The Backstory

Winny is a 26-year old from Kapsowar. As a child, her family relocated from the poorer valley in Kenya to Kapsowar for work. For years, her father tended to the cattle of others, saving enough money to buy a piece of land for his family (which is the economic security and inheritance for a family in Kenya). However, he was deceived. After building a home on it, they discovered their piece of land that should not have been for sale, as it belongs to the government, and they can be forced to leave at any time. 

Winny’s father passed away while she was young, leaving her mother to care for her alone. Through the community’s support, Winny’s older sister’s school fees were covered in hopes that she could provide for the family one day. She came through and finished her degree all the way to university, and was able to find a job in education. This helped relieve some of the economic burden on the family. However, in 2019, a mudslide took out her sister’s entire house, killing Winny’s sister and her sister’s husband, three children and relative’s child staying with them.

The government supported the family with a small amount after this natural disaster. These funds were used to put Winny through a certificate where she studied forest management. She had just finished her studies when the accident happened. 

The Accident

Recently, Winny was climbing her family’s avocado tree to pick fruit for sale when she suffered a terrible accident. She fell and was impaled on the fence below. Rushed to the hospital, she was losing blood rapidly. Our surgeon, Dr. Adrian, quickly assessed the situation and, after an X-ray and ultrasound, determined that immediate surgery was necessary.

As Dr. Adrian began the operation, she grew increasingly concerned. Winny had lost a significant amount of blood, and the situation was dire. Miraculously, our small blood clinic had her blood type available, thanks to a patient who didn’t need it earlier in the week.

However, the situation worsened when Dr. Adrian discovered a 4cm tear in Winny’s inferior vena cava (IVC), a major vein crucial to the circulatory system. This type of injury is often fatal, and many patients don’t survive long enough to reach the operating room.

In a stroke of providence, Dr. Celeste, assisting in the operation, immediately applied pressure to the wound and called for help. Just 24 hours prior, our hospital had welcomed Dr. Ryan Hall, a hepatobiliary and liver transplant surgeon from America, specializing in complex abdominal injuries. Dr. Hall rushed to the operating room as Dr. Celeste maintained pressure on the IVC tear.

The moment she released her hands, Winny lost so much blood that her heart stopped. The team swiftly clamped the vein and administered CPR, while the hospital’s nurses managed to acquire more blood of Winny’s type from a nursing student. The blood was transfused directly to Winny.

Against all odds, Winny survived. Dr. Hall skillfully repaired the 4cm laceration. Her recovery has been challenging, including dealing with a hemothorax (blood in the lungs), but after several weeks, she was well enough to be discharged home. Winny’s survival and recovery are nothing short of miraculous, a testament to the skill and dedication of our medical team and God’s provision. 

The Cost of Care

The social work team quickly realized that Winny’s family would struggle to cover the hospital bill. When her mother brought Winny to the hospital, she didn’t even have shoes to wear, highlighting their financial hardship.

Winny’s church community rallied together to help, organizing a fundraiser to cover the medical expenses. However, in their under-resourced community, they could only raise Ksh 10,000 ($76), and the total bill was just over $2,000. Desperate and willing to do anything for her daughter, Winny’s mother even considered selling their land to pay the bill. However, due to complications with land rights, they couldn’t sell the property. In a humble gesture, she offered to sell their avocado tree and its fruit to the hospital as a form of payment.

The Support of Our Donors

We are deeply grateful to the generous donors who stepped in to cover Winny’s medical bill through our Patient Assistance Fund. Your compassion and support have made a life-saving difference for her and her family. Your contributions not only provided the necessary funds for her surgery and recovery but also brought hope to a family facing immense hardship. 

Thanks to your kindness, Winny has a chance to heal and return to her community. On behalf of Winny, her family, and everyone at the hospital, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your invaluable support. Your generosity is truly life-changing.

Mercy, a 19-year-old young woman, found herself in a desperate situation that led her to attempt to take her own life by drinking pesticides. Originally from Uganda, Mercy moved to Kenya with her parents for farm work. Three years ago, her parents returned to Uganda, leaving Mercy behind after she married a local man who worked as a motorcycle driver.

Recently, Mercy’s life took a heartbreaking turn. She discovered that her husband, who often didn’t come home at night, had secretly married another woman and was spending his nights with her. This betrayal, coupled with her husband’s drinking problems and the misuse of their limited resources, pushed Mercy into a deep depression.

In her moment of despair, Mercy attempted suicide. Villagers found her and rushed her to our mission hospital, but once admitted, Mercy was left alone, without anyone to support her. She couldn’t afford the $38 deposit required for treatment. Despite reaching out to her husband, he refused to help with the bill, and our social workers were unable to contact her mother, who lived in a remote area of Uganda. The village chief confirmed that her husband was a drunkard, leaving Mercy with little social support in a place far from her home.

Mercy’s mother is poor and living in Uganda, and her father has passed away. With no other family or friends to turn to, Mercy’s situation seemed dire. Her plan upon discharge was to return to Uganda to be with her mother, despite the uncertainty of her future.

However, in the midst of this darkness, a glimmer of hope appeared. Thanks to the compassion and generosity of donors like you, we were able to cover the costs of Mercy’s treatment. Your donations ensured that Mercy received the medical care she desperately needed without the burden of worrying about how to pay for it.

Mercy’s story is one of many that highlight the crucial impact of donor contributions. Your support doesn’t just fund treatments; it provides a lifeline to individuals in their most vulnerable moments. For Mercy, it means she can focus on healing and planning her return to her mother in Uganda, rather than being overwhelmed by medical bills.

Your kindness gives individuals like Mercy a chance to find hope and rebuild their lives. Each donation is a beacon of light in the lives of those who feel abandoned and alone. You are not just giving money; you are giving second chances, dignity, and a future to those in need.

Thank you for being a part of Mercy’s journey and for your continued support. Together, we can continue to bring hope and healing to many more lives, ensuring that no one faces their darkest moments alone.

In a small rental house in rural Kenya, Blessing Kemboi’s parents faced a crisis. At just one year old, Blessing was having seizures and wasn’t reaching her developmental milestones. Her parents watched helplessly as their daughter’s condition deteriorated.

After a week of worsening illness and three days of full body contortions, Blessing’s parents rushed her to Kapsowar Mission Hospital. They arrived with worries hearts and empty pockets, unable to pay the $38 deposit required for treatment without insurance. Her father works as boda motorcycle driver with a borrowed bike, and takes on casual day labor that earns about $2 a day. Blessing’s mother, who stays home to care for Blessing, had to ask family for money just pay for transportation to the hospital.

Upon admission, tests revealed a high white blood cell count, indicating a possible infection. Our medical team quickly administered antibiotics and steroids. Blessing’s condition began to improve, but her episodes of severe body rigidity continued, raising concerns about tetanus, despite her vaccination history.

As doctors delved deeper into her medical history, Blessing’s parents shared that these abnormal body movements had been occurring since she was seven months old. This information pointed to a potential birth injury exacerbated by the recent infection. A CT scan showed brain atrophy and a possible cyst, suggesting Blessing might have cerebral palsy.

Throughout her stay, Blessing’s condition was managed with medication, and she improved enough to go home. Blessing’s parents maintained a positive outlook and a supportive relationship, though they worried about the mounting bill. 

Thanks to the incredible generosity of donors like you, we were able to cover the costs of Blessing’s treatment. Your contributions didn’t just provide medical care; they offered hope and a future for Blessing and her family. With your support, we ensured that Blessing received the critical care she needed, without her family bearing the financial burden they couldn’t meet.

Blessing’s journey isn’t over. She will continue her medication and needs further evaluation at the county hospital. But because of your kindness, she has a fighting chance. Her parents can focus on her ongoing care without the overwhelming worry of medical bills.

Your donations make stories like Blessing’s possible. Each contribution is a lifeline for families in desperate need, allowing them to receive life-saving medical care. You are not just giving money; you are giving hope, health, and a brighter future to those who need it most.

Thank you for being a vital part of Blessing’s story and for your continued support. Together, we can bring healing and hope to many more lives.

Japhet is a 5-year-old boy who was previously healthy. His family comes from a very poor and remote region of the upper Kerio Valley in Kenya. Their home is about three hours away from the hospital, followed by a 9km walk into the forest. In the past they have lost much of their wealth due to stolen cattle, a common conflict in this area, leaving them with little income in an area that also lacks access to education.

Due to financial constraints, his family brought him to the hospital after having had seizures for four days at home. Upon arrival, he was non-responsive was taking very shallow breathes due to the seizures he’d been having for hours on the 3-hour journey to hospital. 

He was immediately seen by our physicians, who started him on anti-epileptic medication and antibiotics for bacterial menigingitis. It required three anti-epileptic drugs to get Japhet’s seizures to stop. However, despite the seizures stopping, Japhet went into respiratory failure and needed to be intubated and put on a ventilator. This is a life-saving measure that very few hospitals in rural areas would be be able to provide. 

Thankfully, Japhet was able to come off the breathing tube 24 hours later and appeared to be seizure free. However, doctors needed to understand the cause of his seizures and therefore paid for him to go by ambulance to the nearest large town for a CT scan.

The CT results confirmed the doctor’s suspicions of meningitis or an infection around the brain. Doctors performed a lumbar puncture which showed the infection was likely viral. 

As social work monitored this situation, it became clear this family would not be able to cover the bill that was accumulating. Growing nervous about what he would owe, Japhet’s father suggested mid-treatment he would take Japhet  back to their village for traditional, herbal treatments. He believed Japhet had become sick because he was fed with milk from a cow in another community from a woman who was not good. Our social work team advised them to remain until Japhet recovered.

The family was not aware Kenya offered medical insurance (available at $2/family per month). Even if they did know, their needs are so pressing that it is unlikely they could have afforded it. As cash payers, they needed to pay KSH 5,000 as a deposit, and managed to sell their last sheep to cover it. Instead of putting it towards the bill, social work urged them to use the funds to pay for a year of medical insurance instead.

Though funds provided by our donors, we were able to cover Japhet’s bill of KSH 88,000 ($676). His family continued to express their gratitude for this incredible provision for Japhet’s recovery and care.

Japhet’s father wrote this expression of thanks:

“I thank God for healing my son. I appreciate the doctors of Kapsowar Mission for their efforts of helping my son. Thank to the doctors that paid for CT scan and ambulance to be taken to Eldoret. My whole family is happy for the support from you and donors for paying our medical bill. We appreciate you so much and may almighty God bless you and add more to you to continue helping others.” 

 The generosity of our donors lifted an incredible burden off this family’s shoulders and gave them access to life-saving treatment for their son. It is an act of generosity they will never forget.