HOSPICE CARE KENYA

Introduction and History

In 1989 a group of determined people, expatriates and Kenyans, set up a hospice in Nairobi.  People with advanced cancer were receiving no medical help and with no painkillers or dressings for their wounds, were dying in extreme discomfort.  The charity, originally known as the Nairobi Hospice Charitable Trust, was set up in the UK shortly after to raise funds and support for the Nairobi Hospice, which was the first in Kenya.  HCK now supports six hospices in Nairobi, Nyeri, Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa and Meru and a satellite clinic in Nyahururu.

The hospices care for people with terminal illness, mainly cancer.  Cancer is as common in Kenya as in the UK but is more often diagnosed at a late stage when no longer curable.  Many patients also have underlying HIV/AIDS.

Trustees and Staff

Seven of our trustees have lived and worked in Kenya and the eighth has long standing links with East Africa.  With a chartered accountant, a captain of industry, two doctors, one of whom runs a hospice in Yorkshire, two palliative care nurses, a radiographer, and an architect who designed the first hospice in Nairobi, the trustees are well placed to serve and understand the needs of the hospices.

We are pleased to welcome as a Trustee Mr Tony Parrish, former Manager of the Magadi Soda Company in Kenya.  Tony was for many years a consultant for the Small Business Advisory Service.  Now a volunteer for the RNIB, he also finds time to deliver Books on Wheels to residential homes in South Devon where he lives.

The HCK office is located in the basement of the Bristol Diocesan building and is manned by two part-time employees who carry out all the administration of the charity, and amongst many other things produce the biannual newsletter.  It was with great sadness that we had to say goodbye to Betty Fuge when she retired in March 2003.  Betty had many talents and is still greatly missed.  After a difficult period we are very pleased to welcome Mr Daniel Hayward, who is on a gap year between his first degree in Russian and conversion degree in law.

We warmly acknowledge the help and friendship of the Diocesan Office staff and the use of the Diocesan facilities, in particular the boardroom for meetings and the franking machine twice a year for the newsletter mailing.

The Chair's Visit to the Hospices

The annual visit to Kenya was made this year by Miss Elizabeth Salmon who visited all of the hospices in November, no mean feat in two weeks considering the distances involved and the difficult terrain.  Elizabeth was able meet the staff and volunteers who run the hospices, monitor progress and report on the achievements and requirements of each hospice.  She also sat in on patient consultations, went on home visits, and was able to experience the high quality of care given to patients.

Doctors on Rotation

A National Lottery Grant of £65,169 over a four year period was awarded to HCK in 1999 for a project entitled Doctors on Rotation.  The grant represented 75% of the cost of the scheme and HCK through the good office of donors contributed 25%.  The scheme, operating at the hospices in Nairobi and Nyeri, sponsors doctors for secondment to the chosen hospice for a three month period.  During this time, the doctor takes part in every aspect of hospice work.  At the end of the three months, the doctor returns to his or her own speciality aware of the scope and value of palliative care for patients for whom cure is no longer possible.  The scheme has been extremely valuable since palliative care is not taught in medical schools in Kenya.  Through careful financial management we were able to extend the scheme for a fifth year and thirty eight doctors took part instead of the thirty two originally planned.  We are very grateful to the Community Fund for their assistance in this valuable scheme.  Sadly funding came to an end in February, but with the aid of a grant of £10,000 from the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust we are able to extend the programme for a further six months.

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support we have received from individuals, groups and charitable foundations.  This year we received £84,000 in donations from our supporters, much of which has been Gift Aided.  In particular we acknowledge gifts from:

All Saints' Church, Clifton	Nestle UK Ltd
ARCAID	Mrs S Newton
The Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust	The Revd Timothy Oakley
Mrs D M Caudwell	Ofenheim & Cinderford Trusts
The Cotton Trust	Mr & Mrs D N Partridge
Mr & Mrs Gordon & Anne Davies	Rowan Charitable Trust
The Furlong Fund	Prof Mike Richards
Mr A R Good	Saunderson Foundation
The Hawthorne Charitable Trust	St Helen's Church, Abingdon
Michael & Harriet Maunsell Charitable Trust	St Martins in the Field
The Maxwell Family Foundation	Mr J N Sykes
Revd & Mrs D Maylor	The Tanner Trust
The Mercers' Company	Mr W H Thompson CMG CBE

Finally we thank again the three men who ran the London Marathon in 2003 for HCK, Andrew Gandon, Andy Martin and Christopher McKane, who between them raised an amazing £9,500.