The hills near Kisii in southwestern Kenya are painted a rich green color. Tea thrives here, plantations clinging to steep slopes. In 2012, I visited Kisii accompanied by Kenyan Deaconesses Evelyn and Elizabeth. We climbed on skinny red dirt trails through these verdant hills with breathtaking views. We were on our way to visit Richard* and Violet and their four very young children. As we walked, the deaconesses told me this family’s story. They were extremely poor, living on a small shamba (family farm) but what they grew to eat and sell could not sustain them. In the past, Richard took on whatever work he could to supplement their meager income, but it still remained difficult to provide for his family.

One evening, while walking home from one of his odd jobs, Richard was brutally attacked by robbers armed with machetes. Stripping him of his day’s wages, they left him for dead. Richard was eventually found, but the blows to his head were so severe he sustained an irreversible traumatic brain injury, rendering him completely immobile and helpless. He could not even speak. Needless to say he was no longer able to work on his shamba, or care for his wife and children. He was now dependent on his wife for all his needs, unable to turn, feed, or clean himself. I pondered this story–afraid of what I’d find.

Deaconesses Elizabeth and Evelyn

From the top of the last hill, the family’s tiny two-room mud hut, dismal and dilapidated, came into view. We noticed that their pineapple crop had already been harvested and sold. Violet was sitting on the ground outside with her four children gathered around her. Their poverty was immediately obvious. The children were thin, and the second youngest looked sickly. Violet was trying to breastfeed her baby, but her malnourished body couldn’t provide enough milk. The sight hurt my heart, even though I’d seen poverty in Africa many times before.

We entered the hut, letting our eyes adjust to the dark. Immediately, a foul odor assaulted our nostrils. In a dark corner lay Richard. He was motionless on a rough plastic sack, thin protection from the dirt floor. No mattress, no sheets, no clean clothes. He was unable to control his bladder or his bowels, so the smell was overwhelming. Violet told us there was no soap to clean him after he soiled himself. Violet had to tend to Richard’s every need, care for her four small children, and find enough food for her family. This situation was so complex and so bleak that, in 2012, it all seemed hopeless.

We did what little we could. We bought Richard a mattress, sheets and soap. We paid for the sickly child to attend the local clinic, and paid for medicines. And we got the family some much needed food. We tried to get the local village to help out, but in the end, Richard only suffered and eventually died. In reality, the whole family suffered – a devastating and all too frequent reality in rural Kenya.

Eleven years ago I visited this family, but the horrifying images don’t go away easily. Richard needed more than the deaconesses and I were able to give. What Richard needed was palliative care–care that would have provided for his serious, chronic condition, and recognized his worth as one created in the image of God. Palliative care could have given him dignity while tending to his basic needs of body, mind and spirit. Palliative care could have helped his family through this difficult and hopeless time. Sadly, in 2012, there was no such care for Richard. But we are working to change that.

In the words of Rev. Dr. David Chuchu, Director of Rehema Open Door, “Rehema Open Door is a beacon of hope and support for individuals and families facing life-threatening illnesses. It is a place where suffering is met with understanding, and where the doors of mercy swing wide open to embrace those in need. Rehema Open Door is dedicated to providing hospice and palliative care that transcends the physical, encompassing the emotional, psychosocial and spiritual aspects of care. At Rehema Open Door, mercy is the key that unlocks healing and offers refuge to those seeking comfort and solace.”

Since 2006, I have traveled to Kenya on your missions of mercy. Every time I leave Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, California, and leave other friends and family in the United States, you journey with me. You are in my heart and in my mind. You have opened your hands of mercy for those who suffer in body and soul in Kenya. You have prayed for me, given me little notes of encouragement to read during my travels. You have sent me messages of support while I am away. I am so blessed by God and so blessed by you that my words cannot measure your worth. And therefore…I continue to go.

And this time I will go to see a new home for mercy in Kenya. We are delighted to announce the official opening of Rehema Open Door Hospice and Palliative Care Center on Tuesday, October 3, 2023! With Rehema Open Door, we can now help those suffering, like Richard suffered, live in care and dignity. (Rehema is a very special word. In Kiswahili, it means mercy).

Thanks to you, this dream is coming true.

Always Mercy,

Pamela

*name changed