Nairobi, 23 July, 2026 / 11:20 AM
Residents of Bangladesh, an impoverished informal settlement in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, turned up in large numbers for a two-day medical camp organized byMother Amadea Mission Hospital, many seeking treatment for ailments that had gone unmanaged for years.
The challenge for the slum population is money, and when staff at the hospital that is run by the Congregation of theSisters of St. Joseph of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa(SSJ) brought free medical services to them, they all came out to benefit.
During the two-day screening exercise, the medical camp identified many previously undiagnosed and unmanaged cases of non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, alongside numerous skin diseases and suspected cases of cancer requiring further evaluation.
Although thousands turned up for assistance, the reThose that could not be assisted at the camp were given appointments for free medical services at the Sister-run hospital in Mikindani
In an interview with ACI Africa on Wednesday, July 22, Sr. Veronica Wanjiru, the Administrator of Mother Amadea Mission Hospital said the medical camp is one in an array of community support activities the Sisters are engaged in, and that it is tied to the SSJ’s charism.
“Our charism is to witness in simplicity the saving mission of Christ among ourselves, those that we serve and also that we interact with. As sisters of St. Joseph, we are always committed to serving the poor and the vulnerable,” Sr. Veronica said.
She said that in the vast Bangladesh slum, many families lack access to health care services because of financial constraints.
The families also lack awareness about preventive measures to possible ailments, she said, and explained, “We therefore organized a medical camp to bring the services closer to them.”
For the medical camp, the SSJ members brought on board several partners includingUCESCO Africa, as well as a huge team of volunteers from Italy, America, South Africa and Japan.
Dr. Don Maimba Ocholi, the medical superintendent at Mother Amadea Mission Hospital, told ACI Africa that at 63 percent, a majority of those who participated in the camp were females.
Services included general consultation and screening for cervical, breast, and prostate cancer, as well as counselling and other specialized services such as gynecology, dental, and ENT.
Dr. Ocholi observed a lot of eagerness from the community. “Even though we had announced that our camp would be starting from 8 a.m., there would be people queuing for services from as early as 6.30 am.”
Through screening, the experts discovered cases with elevated blood pressure and glucose readings. “Some didn’t even know about their conditions. We found it deeply concerning that there is no regard for screening and early management of these diseases in the community,” Dr. Ocholi said.
“We also found that a high number of individuals who had been initially placed on hypertension and diabetes medications had defaulted in management of their conditions due to inadequate social support and financial constraints. So, we had to reinitiate treatment,” he said.
The team also attended to many dermatological and dental cases. Dr. Ocholi said that owing to hygiene challenges and the lack of water in the slum community, many residents end up with skin conditions that require medical intervention.
And from the 47 people we screened for cancer, one was found highly suspicious, the medic said, and added, “During the screening, we also discovered some fungal and bacterial infections that were also managed at the site. Those we screened had walked around, not knowing they had all these infections.”
The team further discovered general surgical cases that need intervention.
Most of them, however, were found not covered by the national health insurer because even there, there is a certain amount of money that one pays to be covered.
For most slum residents, the small amount required to enlist for government insurance is a luxury they can’t afford. The Sisters have offered to pay this amount for those needing urgent surgery so that the government can cover their operations.
The team at the medical camp discovered that the Bangladesh community needed a lot of counselling and education around some illnesses.
Dr. Ocholi spoke about the misconceptions in the community that young people cannot have hypertension, and the poor cannot be diabetic.
He said that in the checkups, however, people as young as 20 were found to have elevated blood pressure.
Others, the medic said, blame witchcraft for their diseases.
To curb misconceptions, Mother Amadea Mission Hospital has a 15-member support group for individuals with hypertension. The aim is to help members cope with their conditions, and to equip them with skills to create awareness about NCDs in the community.
Also speaking to ACI Africa, Anne Kamau, Director of Nursing at Mother Amadea Mission Hospital painted the picture of an impoverished community, unable to access basic healthcare.
Describing the situation of Bangladesh where people wait until it is tool late before they seek medical help, she narrated, “A diabetic lady who had been out of treatment for a while came in with high, unrecordable sugar levels. And because our facility neither has an ICU nor a HDU, we had to refer the patient. Unfortunately, she passed on just about an hour after being referred.”
“We live in a community that is sick, a community that needs services. And being a mission hospital, it isn’t just about offering healthcare. We look at this as service to God. We conduct medical camps so that even those who are sick in the villages do not feel forgotten,” Ms Kamau said.
She lauded, in particular, the mental talk that the residents at the camp received, saying, “It is rare to get people in the community coming to seek mental health services even amid the rise in mental issues today. Many people prefer to suffer in silence.”
There was also a talk on cancer. Kamau said the talk on prostate cancer especially encouraged men to be screened, adding, “This was encouraging since men hardly go for such tests.”
Sr. Veronica emphasized the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Mombasa, “to reveal God’s love to the people,” adding, “By organizing this medical camp I believe that we are living this mission.”
According to the Kenyan Sister, locals treat mission facilities, especially run by Sisters, as a place where they can experience God’s love and care.
“We always see many coming to us even when they do not have money. We still go ahead to give them the services because through this, we are living our mission,” she said, and added, “We are continuing with Christ’s healing ministry. We give our services not just to treat diseases but also to restore dignity, to give hope to the community, starting with those that are very poor and vulnerable.”
Apart from health, SSJ members are involved in education and the care for the destitute and orphans.
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