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Father Mathias Wambua is pictured with patients and a physician in front of Kitengela Star of the Sea Medical Services in 2017 when the clinic opened and was blessed by Father Wambua. The clinic has been a breakthrough in medical care for the poor of the neighborhood near Nairobi, Kenya. Parishioners of Star of the Sea hope it is a precursor to a hospital they are currently collecting funds to build. (Courtesy photo)
Sept. 18, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
Father Mathias Wambua, born in Kenya and raised in Nairobi, serves as a parochial vicar at Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco and leads an effort to establish a medical clinic in Kitengela, a poor neighborhood outside Nairobi.
Father Wambua, who has served in some desperately poor areas around Kenya’s capital city, brought the message of the poor’s reduced access to health care in Kenya, to Star of the Sea pastor Father Joseph Illo and the faithful of the parish, asking their support in establishing a clinic.
“Father Illo led the parish to adopt this project as a long-term missionary endeavor, to share a portion of the abundance God has given us with our brethren in Kenya,” said Mariella Zevallos, director of communications and parish life at Star of the Sea.
“Parishioners now support Star of the Sea Medical Services in Kitengela
with prayers, medical supplies, and construction funding,” she said. “The goodwill of Father Illo and all parish clergy, the faithful at Star of the Sea, as well as many from beyond the parish, have spread the merciful work of Jesus Christ to a people at the other end of the world from us.”
The clinic is situated on the outskirts of Kitengela town, which is part of the larger Kajiado county in Kenya. Its main tourist attraction is wildlife. In 2021, Star of the Sea parishioners will spend two weeks in a working visit to the clinic.
“Although there are several hospitals and health centers in Kajiado county, the state of health care in the rural areas is in deplorable shape,” Zevallos said. “Residents walk for long distances to access medical facilities. Many are not able to afford any health care.”
Kitengela Star of the Sea Medical Services sees an average of 28 patients daily on an outpatient basis, with maternity and child welfare services receiving an increasing number of clients since the onset of the pandemic. Many households lack basic amenities like food and proper shelter since most workers lost their jobs. The facility staff have been going an extra mile to offer free door to door medical check-ups to those living around the medical clinic.
In August 2020, Star of the Sea entered a new phase of its African mission, building a hospital in Kitengela, Zevallos said. Supporters have purchased two parcels for the hospital planned as a seven-story building with 80 beds.
For information about the Star of the Sea Hospital Project in Kenya, visit www.starparish.com.
Father Mathias Wambua, Father Joseph Illo and Mariella Zevallos contributed to this article.