What is Friends of Kibimba Hospital about?

In 1934, Arthur and Edna Chilson established the first Friends mission station in Burundi at Kibimba. The mission grew as homes, churches and schools were built. Through the years, Friends missionaries ministered to the Burundi people by telling them about Christ, teaching their young people in primary and secondary schools, and giving medical attention in improvised clinics. These clinics were located under eucalyptus trees, then in small dispensaries, and in 1955 the Kibimba Hospital was built and originally supervised by Dr. Perry Rawson. EFC-MAYM nurses who worked there include Doris Ferguson, Twila Jones Cody, Bob Shaffer and Geraldine Custer. The hospital thrived and thousands of people were shown the love of Christ through its staff.

The hospital continued to function through the civil unrest of recent decades, though in a limited capacity due to water and electricity supply disruptions, lack of adequate staff, and many other difficulties. Several teams from Mid-America Yearly Meeting have visited in recent years, and worked to improve electrical and water systems, as well as treating patients alongside the Burundi medical staff .

It was during these visits that the vision for restoring the Kibimba Hospital to its best condition was inspired. The Friends of Kibimba Hospital (FKH) came together in the fall of 2006 to try to determine how people in the U.S. could partner with those in Burundi to accomplish this goal.