Vincent Kituku of Eagle is shown here with a happy group of Kenyan kids. The really beautiful thing? That little group of young children are all grown now and, thanks to the schools Vincent helped establish in his native land, two of them are in university today. “That’s the power of Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope,” he said. (Photo from the Kituku Photo Library)
By Gaye Bunderson
“God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and I’m asking Him to sell them.” – Vincent Kituku, founder of Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope
Vincent Kituku of Eagle accomplished so much for his native land of Kenya. But he credits God – and the generosity of His caring people – for all he’s been able to do. “I am shocked for what God has done,” he said.
Kituku, who knows that the only lifeline from poverty for vulnerable children is education, helped establish two boarding high school facilities – one for girls in 2015 and one for boys in 2020 – 60 miles east of Nairobi, Kenya, under the umbrella of a non-profit, Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope that he founded in 2010. The organization is sponsoring 964 students – 685 in high school and 279 in university and vocational training institutions.
But his father’s death in deplorable hospital conditions in Kangundo, Kenya moved him to want to found a clinic with modern medicine, equipment, and treatments that Kenyans could access for safer healthcare. His father died at age 89 on May 16, 2022, from complications of diabetes and blood pressure. Kituku listed the extreme substandard conditions he saw at the hospital where his father experienced his final days: “Patients were left unattended and neglected; there were no gloves, no saline, no IV. The hospital had no medicine; patients had to go to the pharmacy, buy it, and give it to the hospital.”
He went on to say, “There was no water for flushing toilets and no backup electricity. In Kenya, a blackout is more predictable than birth and death. I witnessed patients being imprisoned in the hospital after they were discharged but couldn’t pay for their treatment. They had to remain there, incurring more charges until their poor families could raise the money and pay.”
He started moving family members, students and employees of the two schools, and other people to other hospitals. “I had to take my mother away from getting treatment there,” he said.
He tried to help the hospital by purchasing a washer and dryer and oxygen concentrator, repairing a generator, and stocking medicines. He also paid $20 a day for clean water to be delivered at the hospital from Caring Hearts High School-Kangundo, the boys’ school which is one mile from the hospital.
His next attempt at fixing the problem was to ask if he could run the rundown healthcare facility and keep everybody accountable. That did not work out.
“The conditions at the hospital depressed and affected me more than my father’s passing,” Kituku said. What was he to do next?
“One day in May in 2023 I was praying; and while praying, I see there is a piece of land next to the boys’ high school that would be good for a clinic. It was a house with five bedrooms and four single-room apartments for employees, and it came on the market.”
Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope donors bought it in April 2024 and took possession on June 15. Renovation started immediately. “I designed the clinic completely – and the schools too,” Kituku stated. Employees of the organization in Kenya email photos and updates daily. He said: “From the photos, I can tell when a column is in the wrong place.”
The clinic opened December 3, 2024, and is called Ngoo Sya Wendo, or Hearts of Love. As of late December, 2024, it had 10 rooms and included an ultrasound scanner, X-ray machines, a fully stocked pharmacy, optometry and dental care center, a lab with four technicians, triage, records keeping, and a theater for minor surgery.
Regarding the equipment and medicines he is getting for the clinic, he said he works with ophthalmologists, pharmacists, dentists, lab technicians, medical doctors, nurses and others to tell him what is needed, and then he gets a quote.
He fundraised to help finance the life-saving healthcare center. “I raised money for renovation, medical equipment and supplies; 95% of the money comes from Idaho – mainly from the Treasure Valley, but from other communities as well, such as Payette, McCall, Sun Valley area, Twin Falls and Mountain Home.”
He also receives donations from people in other states, including Ohio, Arizona, California, Washington, Tennessee, Hawaii – “most of the states,” he said.
When asked how people know about his work in Kenya, he said it is from his career as a motivational speaker and writer for many years. “God was preparing me for this without my knowing.”
Kituku emigrated from Kenya to Wyoming (where he said he picked up his accent) in 1986 to attend a graduate school but also to escape political persecution of the Moi government. He moved his family to Idaho in 1992 and applied for asylum in 1994. He has four grown children – three daughters and a son – and his wife, Theresia, owns a Boise daycare center for children called Born to Succeed on McMillan. “Theresia is my natural advisory board member. But we have amazing board members,” said Kituku.
Once the clinic opened, the healthcare experts realized some unexpected needs. That included patients who need to be stabilized for 24 hours for close observation – thus the need for a small in-patient ward as well as an ambulance that has functional medical equipment and supplies for emergency care. The ward project and ambulance are estimated to cost about $279,000.
Vincent is eternally grateful for any amount donated. He believes “a lot of small dollars do go a long way in saving and/or transforming lives.” Many of the contributions the organization receives are modest in size – and, again, he is eternally thankful for them.
Regarding who is running the clinic and schools when he is not there, he said: “In the Bible, God used people with a lot of problems to change the world,” and that is what he is doing too – using regular people to run things in his absence. They stay in constant touch with him; and many of the people who ‘man’ the clinic are graduates of his boys’ and girls’ schools who are grateful for their education and for the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of their homeland.
Kituku explained: “More than 50 percent of the people working at the clinic are from poverty-stricken families.” They are familiar with hardship, but Kituku provided them with opportunity.
At age 67, Kituku claimed that he wants to slow down. Asked if he is proud of all he has accomplished, he replied: “I’m humbled by what God can do. When I say you can change the world, I mean it: one poor child at a time.”
His efforts in educating the young Kenyan population now extends to those in the country who cannot obtain reasonable healthcare when they are sick. If anyone can change that, it will be Vincent Kituku, his supporters, and his contributors. With the help of God of course.
For more information, go to www.caringheartsandhandsofhope.org or contact Vincent Kituku at [email protected].
Copyright © 2020 Christian Living Magazine All Rights Reserved.
