BBI will fund secondary education for seven of these orphans. Public education in Kenya is free through the eighth grade, but students wishing to go on to high school must pass an entrance exam and pay tuition. The seven orphans Burning Bush is supporting passed the exam but were not able to afford the tuition and additional expenses.

The Tumaini Grandmothers Group has also started a microlending cooperative. Members may borrow money to buy animals to breed for income or to start other business enterprises. Members pay back the loans to the cooperative with interest, to ensure that funds are available for ongoing needs.

Although health care in Kenya is free, private nurse practitioners provide about 42 percent of basic health services. Although their training and experience varies, these nurses are all engaged in “advanced-practice” nursing, diagnosing illnesses and prescribing and dispensing medications. Their clinics, some of which have no running water or electricity, receive no government funding.

The nurses have organized themselves into clusters to support one another and exchange information. In Central Kenya, these clusters meet monthly; at each meeting, members make a small contribution to a fund that functions like a business line of credit. They can then borrow money to buy needed supplies and repay the loan over time.

After attending some of these meetings, BBI found that these capable, caring nurses have a pressing need for continuing education, supplies, and equipment. Continuing education courses and other resources are available in Nairobi and other cities, but the nurses have neither the money nor the time to travel outside their area. At present, there is no structured means of disseminating information, equipment, and training from cities to remote areas.

Last year, BBI was approached by Rosemary Kamunya, a member of the Mt. Kenya cluster, about constructing a continuing education center in her town. Rosemary has been a nurse trainer for five years with JHPIEGO, an international health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. Her husband Eustace is the principal at the Mt. Kenya Medical Training College. The couple also operate the WAKA Maternity Home and Health Services Clinic.

The Kenyan government has approved the plans for the WAKA Continuing Education Center, and construction is slated to begin soon. When operational, the center will be eligible for registration with the Kenyan Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Government certification will allow other organizations to work through the facility to channel equipment, supplies, and additional training to the area. There will be ample storage for equipment and supplies, so they will be available when needed.

Burning Bush has agreed to fund the construction of this facility and to underwrite its operating expenses for three years. We welcome financial assistance from organizations and individuals who feel called, as we have, to help our hard-working friends in Central Kenya build healthier, more productive lives.

St. Paul’s is affiliated with the University of Wales Lampeter, which will grant the MA degree upon completion of the three-year program. Jocelyn will continue to operate her clinic while enrolled in the program, traveling to the Limuru campus for a total of 46 days and receiving instruction remotely the rest of the time.

Eileen’s presentation will focus on the role of private nurse practitioners in delivering health care to the rural population in Kenya.

Eileen’s first presentation will be delivered to attendees at the Tallinn Health College’s International Week conference. The conference, scheduled for May 18-22, is expected to draw health professionals from the Baltic states, Russia, Czech Republic and Finland. In mid-June she will travel to Glasgow, where she will meet with nursing educators and clinicians at the International Conference of the Royal College of Nursing’s Joint Education Forum.

A summary of the survey findings will be available soon in our News section.

A turning point like this inevitably leads to retrospection, and Poppy and Susan have looked back over the last nine years with awe at what the Lord has accomplished. They see ample evidence of God’s hand in bringing them together and working through them to bring much-needed healthcare services to Ndathi.

When Poppy met Susan in 1999, she felt the pull of the Holy Spirit, much like the one Saint Paul expressed to the Apostles in Acts 20:22-24: “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.”

Just as Saint Paul did not know what lay ahead, neither did Poppy or Susan, but both heard a clear voice telling them to work together. Poppy says that she and Susan began by praying for supplies—especially disposable gloves—and equipment. As Susan and the staff of the Samaria Maternity Center now go forward in faith, they ask everyone associated with Burning Bush Inc. to pray with them that gloves and all other needs will be supplied by our Lord.