The relationship between Craiglockhart Parish Church and Chogoria is one which spans almost 40 years, and is still going strong to this day. Read on to find out more about the fellowship of Craiglockhart and Chogoria, our fundraising lunches, and how you can help to support the vital work taking place at Chogoria Hospital.
It all started with a small lunch gathering
If you ever wondered what a simple lunch in an Edinburgh Church could achieve, the story of Craiglockhart Parish Church and Chogoria is a wonderful example.
In 1988, members of Craiglockhart Church gathered for a lunch of soup, bread and cheese. At this lunch, they raised £229.60 to support a hospital thousands of miles away in Chogoria, Kenya. This ended up being the first of many many lunches, and the beginning of a wonderful relationship between a small Church in a quiet neighbourhood in Scotland, and a rural town in the picturesque foothills of Mount Kenya.
Since that very first lunch, today around £100,000 has been raised and donated to Chogoria Hospital, which serves the surrounding rural population. The funds have supported projects at the hospital that have brought new medical services, equipment and facilities to communities across the region.
A hospital on the slopes of Mount Kenya
In the late 19th century, medical missionaries from Scotland began establishing clinics in Kenya. Then, in 1921, Dr Clive Irvine established a Mission Clinic at Chogoria, on what was then largely vacant land on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. Around 5,000 feet above sea level and roughly three hours' drive north of Nairobi, Chogoria became a centre for medical missionary work.
The Church of Scotland regularly sent medical missionaries to the area, while congregations in Scotland became Missionary Partners. The relationship was more than financial: churches exchanged news, prayed for one another and welcomed missionaries home when they returned to Scotland on leave. One of those missionaries was Dr John Wilkinson. His wife, formerly Miss Ewan, had been headmistress of a girls' secondary school in Kenya. Her two sisters lived in Craiglockhart- creating a family connection that would eventually bring Chogoria and our own congregation much closer together.
The conversation where everything started
By 1988, Dr Geoff Lachlan was serving as the Missionary Partner at Chogoria Hospital. When he returned to Scotland on leave that year, he met three Craiglockhart elders responsible for Christian Aid in the parish. He told them about his time spent at the hospital- about the work, challenges, and the need for practical and prayerful support. The response from the congregation of Craiglockhart Parish was immediate. In 1988, the first Chogoria Lunch was held at our Church.
The congregation enjoyed the lunch so much that it became an annual tradition. In fact, it grew into a regular programme of six lunches occurring each autumn and winter. Aside from a 30-month break during the Covid pandemic, the lunches have continued ever since 1988 and continue to raise much needed vital funds for the hospital in Chogoria.
Where does the money go?
Chogoria is much more than a hospital. The wider mission established primary and secondary schools for boys and girls, which are now under local control. There is also a nurse training school, alongside the wards, clinics and specialist services you would expect to find in a large general hospital.
Today, Chogoria Hospital is run by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. The Kenyan Government provides modest support, but the hospital meets its day-to-day running costs through fees paid by patients and its own fundraising. That is important because it means Craiglockhart's donations are not used to cover the hospital's ordinary running costs. Instead, our support helps make possible the things that can otherwise be difficult to fund: new facilities, specialist equipment and development projects. And those investments can make a very tangible difference to patients.
The projects Craiglockhart Parish Church has supported over the years
Over the years, Craiglockhart's support has helped fund a remarkable range of projects:
- Our first major project was to fund the establishment of a clinic in a remote jungle area, including the salary of a nurse. That initial funding gave the clinic the opportunity to get started. It continues to provide an essential service for people who might otherwise struggle to reach medical care.
- We have provided 100 mosquito nets, helping protect families from malaria, which remains a major cause of illness and death in the region.
- Funding has supported the development of a Mother and Child Clinic, as well as renovations to the hospital's Children's Ward.
- Craiglockhart has also helped fund specialist treatments, including the creation of a Renal Dialysis Unit, a Palliative Care Unit providing dedicated care for people living with serious illness, and more recently, we helped fund a new and enlarged Intensive Care Unit, strengthening the hospital's ability to care for seriously ill patients.
- One of the most recent projects has been part-funding an ophthalmic operating microscope. This specialist equipment enables visiting experts to carry out cataract surgery- a procedure that can restore sight and make an enormous difference to someone's independence and quality of life.
A lasting connection
[To insert: Image of recent Chogoria Lunch]
The Church of Scotland eventually ended its missionary activity in Kenya during the 1990s, choosing instead to concentrate its missionary work in Malawi.
But our relationship with Chogoria didn’t end there. The final medical missionary in Kenya was Dr Alison Wilkinson, from the same Ewan/Wilkinson family whose connection with Chogoria had helped bring the hospital to Craiglockhart's attention. Now retired and living in Stirling, Alison continues to visit Chogoria regularly and keeps us informed about developments at the hospital.
More than a century after the first mission clinic was established, the links between Scotland and Chogoria continue.
Get involved
[To Insert: Image of recent Chogoria Lunch]
Our Chogoria Lunches are held at 11.30am on the second Sunday of each month from October to March. You don't need to be a member of the congregation to come along. Everyone is warmly welcome, and every donation helps us continue a connection that has been making a difference for generations, and funding vital work at Chogoria Hospital.
We are also always on the lookout for volunteers to help prepare and serve at the Chogoria Lunches. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, and you have a desire to make a difference, please get in contact.