We hope to send a mission team to Kenya again in 2021. In fact, we have reserved dates of June 17 – July 1. More information to come in early 2021.

COVID-19 UPDATE: As the seriousness of COVID became apparent, I literally prayed that Africa (and Kenya in particular) would be like the Israelites during the Passover in Egypt – that the angel of death would pass over the very vulnerable continent. Sub-Saharan Africa has a huge lack of equipment, such as ventilators. And even if they had them, there are not sufficient people trained to use or maintain them. While Maua Methodist Hospital serves 450,000+ people, they do not have the capacity to do COVID testing. Test samples must be sent to Nairobi which is a 6-8-hour drive one way. The outcomes in people who have come to the hospital with COVID have not been good; they are usually very, very ill by the time they arrive.

Through a fund-raising campaign by Friends of Maua Hospital, of which Servant is a member, $80,000 was raised very quickly which enabled the hospital to order PPE supplies and make the hospital ready for COVID patients. Everyone entering the hospital grounds has their temperature taken and must wear masks.

The capital city of Nairobi was on a complete lockdown from March 25 until July 6. No one could go out or come in. Curfews were enforced.  While that helped keep COVID numbers down, it also created a scarcity of food – the open-air markets were closed as supplies could not be brought in.

As of August 23, Kenya has had 32,000+ total cases in a population of almost 54 million. That is a low percentage of diagnosed cases, however only 7,800 people out of every million have been tested. (All stats from worldometers.info)

Please pray that all underdeveloped countries will be spared from this pandemic.

Ann Knutson,

Kenya Team Coordinator