On Building

I’d love to share a couple of big projects going on in Kijabe that Arianna and I have been super-involved in.

The first is renovating the Neonatal ICU to increase the number of babies it can hold from 20 to 36. Arianna has put in many hours of meetings with the planning committee, architects and engineers, and is really excited about the plans which start tomorrow! The babies will move over to the Pediatric building tomorrow and the contractors will start demolishing walls over the weekend. We are off to a good start on fundraising for equipment and structure, but there will be additional costs for heating/air purification and oxygen supply, so please pray for funding to arrive as needed.

We have a super-cute video about the project, the audio is our friend Dr. Judy Nguyen and video with Arianna and her team – https://youtu.be/ts333nr0P2g

The second building is a new chapel. I heard the idea floated when we first visited Kijabe in 2013, but it remained a dream for years. When construction neared completion on the new Operating Theatres in early 2021, I was surprised to see a concrete slab on the ceiling of the upper floor. I grabbed a tape measure, found the engineers, talked to the Kijabe CEO, Project Manager, and Head Chaplain – all were in agreement. It would be the perfect size and location to build a new chapel. Thanks to many individual donations and an amazing pledge from our home church in Birmingham, LCVH, funding is finished, and construction is going well.

We feel fortunate to be part of these projects that will last decades (a century??) into the future. Amazing to see how God has brought together an amazing team in Kijabe and people from around the world to contribute and make them happen.