A GROUP of Islanders will travel to Kenya in June to continue work on a project to restore a hospital.
The group members, who have all worked on the project before, will spend between two and three weeks restoring ten staff houses at Kaloleni Hospital, which is a two-hour drive from Mombasa.
The work has been largely funded by a grant from the Rotary Club of Jersey, and the trip is part of an ongoing project that has been funded by money donated by Islanders.
In July 2007 a group from Jersey began the restoration of the hospital, which had been left almost deserted because of its poor facilities.
The Rev David Shaw, the Rector at St Clement’s Church, has been involved with the project from the start. He said that when the group first arrived the staff had not been paid for two years and sheets and operating gowns were being washed in cold water in a broken-down building.
A team returned in July 2008 and finished refurbishing the theatre block that had been closed for several years.
Other groups have since been attracted by the revived facilities and have offered their help. Recently the charity Medical Assistance Programme used the hospital for a programme of free operations for local people.
‘A total of 51 operations were performed, which was a huge benefit in a country where whole families often have to club together to help someone afford an operation which would be free in Jersey,’ said Mr Shaw.
As well as the hospital, the group has also funded a nursery school for 60 children at Rabai and is planning another at Malindi. It is also fund-raising for a clean water project at a primary school situated in Chilulu and continuing to forge links and plan other projects in the area.
By June, the Jersey group — which is largely run through St Clement’s Church — will have spent more than £100,000 on the project. The money has been raised through grants from the States, the Rotary Club of Jersey, other Island-based trusts and donations and fund-raising by Islanders.
Islanders can donate to the project or find out more by contacting Mr Shaw on 851992. The group members, who have all worked on the project before, will spend between two and three weeks restoring ten staff houses at Kaloleni Hospital, which is a two-hour drive from Mombasa.
The work has been largely funded by a grant from the Rotary Club of Jersey, and the trip is part of an ongoing project that has been funded by money donated by Islanders.
In July 2007 a group from Jersey began the restoration of the hospital, which had been left almost deserted because of its poor facilities.
The Rev David Shaw, the Rector at St Clement’s Church, has been involved with the project from the start. He said that when the group first arrived the staff had not been paid for two years and sheets and operating gowns were being washed in cold water in a broken-down building.
A team returned in July 2008 and finished refurbishing the theatre block that had been closed for several years.
Other groups have since been attracted by the revived facilities and have offered their help. Recently the charity Medical Assistance Programme used the hospital for a programme of free operations for local people.
‘A total of 51 operations were performed, which was a huge benefit in a country where whole families often have to club together to help someone afford an operation which would be free in Jersey,’ said Mr Shaw.
As well as the hospital, the group has also funded a nursery school for 60 children at Rabai and is planning another at Malindi. It is also fund-raising for a clean water project at a primary school situated in Chilulu and continuing to forge links and plan other projects in the area.
By June, the Jersey group — which is largely run through St Clement’s Church — will have spent more than £100,000 on the project. The money has been raised through grants from the States, the Rotary Club of Jersey, other Island-based trusts and donations and fund-raising by Islanders.
• Islanders can donate to the project or find out more by contacting Mr Shaw on 851992.
• Picture: Ally Shaw, Prisca Tremeer, David Shaw, Carole Martin, Val Nibbs and Jonathan Shaw on a previous visit to Kenya
