Esharelife visiting St Joseph Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

St. Joseph Hospital, a dispensary founded in 2004 by the Missionaries of Charles Borromeo to assist neglected people affected by AIDS, has grown significantly. With the addition of new services like Maternity, the hospital offers hope to poor pregnant mothers. Located in Kahawa Wendani, Kiambu County, St. Joseph Hospital serves the communities of Githurai, Mwihoko, and Kahawa Sukari, a densely populated area with an average age of 18 years old.

Members of Esharelife had the opportunity to tour the hospital with Director Jecinta Nyawira Mathugu. During the tour, they witnessed firsthand the extraordinary work at St. Joseph Hospital. The hospital has come a long way since its founding, and its commitment to providing integrated health services to the community is stronger than ever.

Nurse Gladys Kwaboka shares her own personal struggle that drove her to start working at St. Joseph Hospital by saying, “After knowing my HIV status it wasn’t easy. It has been a long journey, and it has been tough all through my experience or what I’m living.”

She further explains why she is so passionate about her work by describing, “I’m able to help them to accept their diagnosis even if it’s not easy, but through sharing my experience on how I’ve been living peacefully since 2005 when I knew my status, it has been easy for me to talk to these people and make them to understand and accept living positively.”