With Tremendous Growth, the Daystar Nursing Program is in Dire Need of Lab Equipment
August 5th, 2021
"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."
Psalm 103:8 (NIV)
The Daystar University School of Nursing was the only nursing program open in all of Kenya during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program was vital for hospitals and clinics throughout Kenya and East Africa. As a boldly Christian program, the graduates bring HOPE and well-trained medical care to patients, helping to fill a dire void for excellent healthcare, now and for the future. The need for excellent training is therefore essential.
Starting in the fall of 2021, there are anticipated to be 400 students enrolled in the program, up from the 300 students currently in the program. The growth of the program is astonishing. The graduates have an excellent reputation in the field because of their integrity, work ethic, and Christian faith. As a result, all of last year’s graduates were able to obtain internships and subsequent employment. This is all because of God’s grace on Daystar.
An important part of the Nursing education involves the tools and equipment that the students will be using in hospitals and clinics. In Nursing schools this is accomplished through skills labs. Daystar University currently has a skills lab at the Nairobi campus, which caters to the Nairobi students and can handle around 30 students at one time. The 150 new Nursing students are living out at the Athi River campus, so having a skills lab at Athi is critical for the growth of the program (busing those students to Nairobi is not practical, as the commute can be 2 – 4 hours one way).
The cost of this equipment is $125,000 (including shipping). Of this amount, $77,600 has already been committed. The immediate need is the remaining $47,400.
This need for the nursing skills lab equipment is especially urgent, as the next semester begins at the end of August. The equipment is obtained by Matter, a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities area, which has a worldwide presence. The organization has an excellent reputation of supplying gently-used hospital equipment worldwide to needy areas. Matter provided the equipment for the Nairobi campus skills lab three years ago.
Dr. Laban Ayiro, the Vice Chancellor of Daystar University, anticipates that the enrollment in the School of Nursing will continue to increase. The Nursing Council of Kenya is insisting that Daystar increase its physical space to accommodate the needs for student education. Currently there is temporary space at the Athi River campus for this skills lab. In the future Daystar University would like to build a Nursing building, as the program will soon outgrow the available space. However, the immediate need is for the equipment.
Below is a video clip from Susan Njuguna, Dean of the Daystar School of Nursing, where she shares more about the Nursing program and the urgent need for equipment. Please click on the video link below to view.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
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Susan Njuguna, Dean of the Daystar School of Nursing, Shares an Update on the Need for Lab Equipment in the Interview Below
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