Responding to the need in Igoji

October 03, 2011 | by Lynne Baldwin | in Current Events

Change is part of a Poor Handmaids life. They go where the Spirit leads. Sr. Esther Dolezal, PHJC spent many years in the dry, warm area of Materi Girls’ School in Kenya where she devoted herself to fulfilling needs of the children at Materi and the Caring Place Home for Boys. Her new mission is very different - the pharmacy at St. Anne Hospital. Sister Esther dispenses medication to the people of Igoji, Kenya.

Igoji (E go Gee) is located in the forested hills east of Mount Kenya. The higher elevation is a bit cooler even though it is near the equator.  Sr. Esther explained that trained medical professionals are scarce in the region. Her mission was born of necessity. St. Anne Mission Hospital is a small facility that provides local health care for conditions like wounds, malaria, and parasitic infections. If the patient has a complex case, they are stabilized and transferred to a larger hospital. The larger hospitals are often severely overcrowded. The smaller St. Anne’s Hospital is a preferred health resource for the local community.

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