Generous Donors Help Kenyan Sisters Build a Clinic

August 20, 2025

The power of Iowans’ generosity transformed one community’s healthcare over 8,000 miles away in Tunyai, Kenya.

The Nazareth Sisters of the Annunciation opened their clinic, St. Anthony’s Dispensary, in Tunyai this past January with a dedication Mass.

The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Salesius Mugambi of the Diocese of Meru. It concluded with Bishop Mugambi blessing each individual room of the clinic and a celebration dinner put on by the sisters.

The project began in 2022 and replaced the open-air clinic the sisters ran. The previous clinic had one kitchen table that served as their examination table, could not run any clinical tests, and had a tin roof as its covering.

The new clinic features a clinical laboratory, pharmacy, multiple examination rooms, and two waiting areas. The staff now includes a clinical officer and a lab technician as well. The new clinic has also led to an increase in patients, especially among children who are receiving necessary vaccines for preventable diseases.

Steve Craig, a local doctor who helps coordinate Iowans’ support for the Nazareth Sister’s ministry, attended the grand opening of the clinic in January. “[The dispensary is] up and running, and it’s working beautifully,” he said. “The sisters are so excited with how wonderful the dispensary is.”

Thanks to additional fundraising, the sisters also received a vehicle for transporting patients who need more intensive care, and they received the funding to drill and deliver fresh water on site later this year.

The clinic was completed through the assistance of board member Sister Rosehellen Karwirwa, who formally ministered in Des Moines and now ministers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and three Nazareth Sisters who currently live in Des Moines: Sisters Joan Clare Njoroka, Rosalia Njura, and Joan Sudan Mwende. The sisters in Des Moines work as nurses’ assistants at MercyOne and send the money they earn back to their religious community in Kenya to fund the order’s work. Five other Nazareth Sisters live in the United States, who also send their earnings to fund the order’s ministry.

The local Nazareth Sisters of the Annunciation Board coordinated local efforts to donate money and set up a 501 (c) (3) organization. The board also held open house fundraisers throughout the Diocese annually, with the most recent open house at St. Augustin Parish in Des Moines in April.

The next project the board has its sights on is constructing a short-stay hospital. The current hospital is 15 miles away from St. Anthony’s, but the cost of transportation and medical care is too high for some families in need.

The project is what the people in Tunyai need the most, said Sister Adelina Muguna, Superior General of the Nazareth Sisters of the Annunciation.

The blueprint for the new hospital includes over 20 beds, including pediatric, antenatal, and postnatal beds, a delivery suite, and nursery room. It will serve all in the village, including low-income individuals.

The goal of the board is to raise $130,000 – approximately $80,000 to build the hospital and approximately $50,000 to furnish and equip the hospital.

The Nazareth Sisters and the board are grateful for the contributions made so far and hope for continued generosity and prayers in supporting the Nazareth Sisters’ mission of doing the God’s work.

“Whatever the Lord wants, we will do,” said Sister Muguna.

To donate, visit nazarethsisters.com. For more information, contact Steve Craig at mbcraig1@msn.com.