Kenya: Sister Freda’s Foundation

Kenya: Sister Freda's ClinicSister Freda’s Foundation (SFF) operates a hospital and clinic that provides access to community healthcare services as well as outreach clinics in local slums, refugee camps, and rural villages. Sister Freda also operates a nursing college, a nursery school/feeding program for vulnerable children, a girl’s high school, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.

As a volunteer with both medical and non-medical experience, you will work in the hospital and clinics, the nursing college, in the girl’s school and with young children in the preschool and feeding program. Click here to read about the experience of one of our volunteers.

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Sister Freda’s Hospital. Open every day of the year, 24 hours a day, Sister Freda’s Hospital contains a pediatric ward, a labor ward, an operating theatre, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and general diagnosis and hospital wards. The busiest time is the rainy season, April-September, due to waterborne diseases.There is also VCT testing for HIV/AIDS.

Outreach Clinics. Sister Freda established community outreach clinics in local slums, refugee camps, and villages held at local churches every Thursday.

Nursery School/Feed Program. Because of the alarming amount of malnutrition and disease Sister Freda witnessed among the children, she began offering a nursery school/feed program in 2004. The nursery school has grown to be a beautiful school thanks to a generous donor who named the day care after Sister Freda’s late husband who started the feeding program.  The children are from nearby villages and their parents are very poor with either only one parent or they are orphaned and living with relatives. They are fed and given a wonderful early education.

Orphan Support. Sister Freda also runs a small home with children who are dependent on the hospital and donations for support. With increased support, Sister Freda hopes to expand the home and offer care for more children.

Nursing College. Sister Freda found that upon finishing secondary school, many girls were returning to the slums. Sister Freda now operates a nursing college to create educational opportunities for young women to achieve success in a medical profession.

Girls High School. In 2011, Sister Freda with the funding support of Dr. Gerdes, a volunteer, built a girl’s high school and dormitory that provides a quality education for high achieving young women who would not have the opportunity to get an education due to lack of school fees.

      Education/Children

  • Teach English, math, science, and other subjects
  • Help care for and interact with the children at the Nursery School/Feeding Program
  • Work with young women at the high school in academics as well as decision making, communication skills, sexual health, and self-esteem building.

Public Health

  • Participate in community outreach health care programs
  • Teach public health awareness and empowerment to girls at the high school

Medical

  • Doctors, nurses, medical students and other medical practitioners may take patient histories, shadow doctors, interact with patients, help diagnose, assist in the pharmacy or with lab work, or prep the operating theatre.
  • Nurses may bathe, feed, or administer medications to patients.
  • Teach at the Nursing College

Agriculture/Sustainable Farming

  • Participate in garden and crop cultivation

Women

  • Work with widows groups

General

  • Clerical and administrative work at the Hospital
  • Spend time with patients

Building/Construction

  • Participate in building and construction projects as funding allows

ACCOMMODATIONS AT SISTER FREDA’S

Housing

Volunteers are hosted on the grounds of Sister Freda’s Foundation. There are two triple-occupancy rooms and one double-occupancy room. Volunteers are provided with warm water for bathing in the shower, and there is a flush toilet available for volunteers.

Meals

Meals are prepared for volunteers.

Drinking Water

Volunteers are provided with filtered water.

Electricity

Electricity is available, as well as a standby generator in case of outages.

Internet Access

Volunteers can access the internet in Kitale, approximately 15 minutes away.

Laundry

Laundry is done for volunteers at no charge. All volunteers are asked to launder their own undergarments.

MEET THE DIRECTOR OF SFF: SISTER FREDA

Sister Freda’s founded SFF  in 1994 as a medical clinic to serve the local community. Before creating the clinic, Sister Freda worked in a private hospital where she witnessed countless people suffering. In order to serve as many people as possible, she decided to open a clinic in close proximity to the slums of Kitale where the very poorest life. While the clinic served many, there were still many people who needed to be taken to a hospital where there were more resources. She then decided to expand her clinic into a hospital. Sister Freda is an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to healing the poor. With so many children in the Kipsongo slums, she started a feeding program and a preschool for the very youngest.