The young boy was dying. Confined to his hospital bed fighting a battle with terminal illness, there was nothing that could be done to save him. As pediatric surgeon Dr. John Fitzwater pulled his chart during rounds one night, each line was like a gut punch, hard to read and even harder to accept. As…
Health & Medical Ministries
Chaplains Provide Spiritual Support at Kenya’s Kijabe Hospital
On one Sunday afternoon, Geoffrey Ndivo received an urgent phone call that he would have to go in to the hospital. A man and his wife had been in a serious car accident that took the lives of the man’s father, mother, and brother. The couple had been rushed to the emergency room in need…
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Clean Water Comes to Remote Villages in Kenya
Every day Eunice woke up early with the same worry pressed on her heart—would she find water today for her children? From her home in a remote village in Kenya, she walked two hours each way to the nearest water source and could only bring home what she was able to carry. Sometimes, during severe…
50 Years of Ministry
Praise the Lord! 56,000 Answered the Call to Help an African Hospital
Dr. Lowell Furman and Franklin Graham went to Kenya to visit Tenwek Hospital. The facility was so badly overcrowded that there were sometimes three patients in a bed, and occasionally a fourth person on the floor underneath. Tenwek obviously needed new facilities, but Samaritan’s Purse had never taken on such an enormous project. In 1980,…
Discipleship, Education & Training
The Heart of a Chaplain
In 2009, the Rev. Mark Sukulao lay in a hospital bed in Zimbabwe, very ill, discouraged, and in almost constant pain. This hospital was the third one he had been admitted to in less than two months, and now he was facing another surgery. Many anxious thoughts churned through the pastor’s mind. What was God’s…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Fighting COVID-19 and Providing Relief in Africa
Samaritan’s Purse teams based in our seven country offices across Africa continue to help alleviate suffering during the COVID-19 global pandemic, finding critical ways to support men, women, and children during this uncertain time. Our teams are working hard to help train medical professionals and equip healthcare centers, to create awareness programs for communities, and…
Health & Medical Ministries
More Than Healthy Teeth and Gums
Emma knew something was amiss when she watched her son repeatedly slap his cheek. Ten-year-old Sylvanus suffered from a variety of health problems, including epileptic seizures, but this was different. Even more challenging, Sylvanus had never learned to speak and could not tell his mother what was wrong. Tears rolled down his face. Finally able…
Making a Lasting Impact
“An American missionary in Uganda was medevacked here with a broken hip. He’s in the ER now. Can you go see him?” Dr. John Newell had just arrived at Tenwek Mission Hospital in Kenya after two days of travel from North Carolina when he received news of the missionary’s medical situation. The orthopedic surgeon immediately…
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
‘God Is My Shepherd’
Dama attended a viewing of the Jesus film with others in her Kenyan village and her life hasn’t been the same since. “I saw how Jesus was suffering for us. That compelled me to give my life to Christ,” she said. Community-wide Jesus film showings and Bible distributions accompany Samaritan’s Purse water and hygiene programming…
Animals, Agriculture & Livelihoods
From Garden to Kingdom
From Garden to Kingdom Little seeds Buried in freshly turned earth Watered, encouraged Spring from darkness to light A miracle Tended, nurtured The plants grow green and strong Blossoming Flourishing seeds Now producing their fruit Ripened, harvested, washed Hungry? Ready to eat! Or prepared for market Sold—Joy! Income yields health Blessings Gospel seeds Hearts open to…
