“From possibly dying and being thrown in the bush never to be heard of again, to becoming the head of the security department at CURE Kenya. I MUST say it is GOD!” – Peter.
When you come to CURE Kenya, the first people you see are the security guards at the gate. Their job is to find out the reason for your visit and warmly welcome you to our hospital. You may never guess that behind one of those warm welcomes is a story of redemption and faith, and that story comes from a security guard that has worked at CURE Kenya for over 20 years, named Peter.
Peter first heard about CURE Kenya when he was working as a casual laborer at a neighboring hospital. The spiritual team at CURE circulated pieces of paper with some questions on them. Peter was intrigued and filled out the form on one of the papers and sent it in. Sometime later, he was told that a man had been looking for him almost every day. Since he worked mostly night shifts, the man always missed him. One day, before beginning his shift, Peter was called to reception and was told that a man was there to see him. He didn’t know who he was but stayed to talk with him well into his shift, a kind colleague covered for him until the meeting ended. Three hours later, Peter accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior! The man Peter met with was Rev. Kithome, the Spiritual Director of CURE at the time.
A few weeks later, Peter was asked to come and interview at CURE Kenya. All this time, he didn’t know that Rev. Kithome worked at CURE Kenya, and so you can imagine his surprise when he saw him on the interview panel! Peter got the job and has been serving at CURE Kenya ever since. Peter was drawn to CURE by his faith, and he loves the spiritual aspect of working at CURE Kenya. He says, “It is so nice that apart from treating patients, we also tell them about God.”
When Peter is on duty, you will see him helping patients by pushing their wheelchairs, carrying their bags, or even visiting them in the ward to find out how they are doing. As a security guard, Peter could just opt to stay at his station and watch people coming in and out of CURE Kenya. Instead, he goes the extra mile to make patients smile, to make their time at CURE easier, and to make them feel at home. So, we asked him why he does these things so passionately. With his eyes a bit teary, he paused…and then began to tell this story.
In 2002, Peter was involved in a road accident. He was cycling home with a friend and on the way, they decided to overtake a transit goods truck. They did overtake the truck, but the truck caught up and came very close to them. His friend was able to continue moving forward, but Peter stumbled a bit and got hit. His hand was badly injured, and both his friend and the truck driver didn’t stop. He was left alone badly injured on the road. Thankfully, a motorist drove by and saw Peter lying on the side of the road and stopped to help. Peter was rushed to a nearby hospital where he went through multiple surgeries. During recovery, he kept wondering why God hadn’t let him die. He couldn’t stop thanking God for saving his life. “At that moment, I realized that I could have been disabled like the kids we serve and have to depend on someone for the rest of my life,” Peter told us. “When I recovered and went back to work, I made the decision to treat patients just as I would love to be treated if I was in the same situation.” And, that is just what Peter does. He welcomes patients to the hospital with warmth and puts them at ease. He makes them feel important and special.
We asked Peter, “How much longer do you see yourself serving at CURE Kenya?” “In this service to God, I cannot grow weary and so until God says that this is enough, I will not stop!” Peter responded with conviction. We are grateful to have Peter working with us and thank God for him and for the work that He is doing through him.
About AIC-CURE Children’s Hospital of Kenya
CURE Kenya has been a place of hope since opening its doors in 1998. We were Africa’s first orthopedic teaching hospital when it opened in Kijabe. More than just providing life-changing surgeries, CURE cares for the emotional and spiritual needs of all our patients. Our teaching hospital has 47 beds, four operating rooms, and an outpatient clinic.
