Our Work
We are dedicated to providing services to the poorest segments of Kenyan society and to offering opportunities for mission minded dental professionals and dental students to volunteer their time and talents as educators and/or service providers.. This works to fulfill our mission to provide immediate, comprehensive and preventative dental services to the general population in Kenya, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable segments of Kenyan society. Much has been accomplished over the years and there is great promise for the years to come as we work together to improve the oral health status for the people of Kenya.
To know where we are going, it is sometimes helpful to understand where we’ve been. Here you can see the fruits of our labor thus far. With your help and support, there is much more we can accomplish.
Kikuyu Clinic
- Location: Kikuyu, Kenya
- Opened: September 9th, 2006
Dr. Johnson J. Wambugu, BDS, MPH, FICD
Dental Officer in Charge
In June of 2000 the First Presbyterian Church of Fargo, North Dakota sent a mission group to the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) Kikuyu Hospital just outside Nairobi, Kenya. During this mission trip, a plan to build a dental unit was initiated with direction from Dr. Salvador de la Torre, the medical director of the hospital.
View the details about the Kikuyu Clinic.
Chogoria Clinic
- Location: Chogoria, Kenya
- Opened: August 2014
Dr. Hawa Nyaboga Okiya
Dental Officer in Charge
In September of 2009 during a trip to Kikuyu Hospital Dental Clinic, we were encouraged to travel to Chogoria Hospital near Mt. Kenya. This hospital had an existing dental clinic very active in serving the rural and poor population. The hospital administration asked us if we would be interested in assisting them with upgrading their dental clinic. We were surprised to learn how they provided amazing services with so very little. We (Presbyterian Church, Fargo, ND) accepted the challenge and began planning and fundraising. We initially thought we would remodel the existing clinic and realized we could build a new four-treatment-room-space for similar costs on the second floor of a new building within the hospital complex. With the assistance of Patterson Dental Fargo and a Kenyan architect, the clinic was designed.
View the details about the Chogoria Clinic.
Mobile Dental Camps
Medical, dental, and public health communities ensure under-served areas have care and treatment. Free medical and dental camps are organized throughout the year, which are held in churches, schools and orphanages in needy urban neighborhoods of Nairobi, as well as in the remote areas of Tharaka-Nithi County where access to care is impossible.
Organized by Kikuyu and Chogoria Hospitals
KOHI partners with the efforts of the medical, dental, and public health communities to bring dental care to these areas. Dental teams are comprised of volunteer dentists, community oral health officers, dental assistants, and non-dental workers who provide support in the form of registration, blood pressure reads, oral health education, and dispensing of medicine.
The need is great and hundreds of Kenyans receive free dental services in one day. It is possible to work with KOHI to sponsor a dental camp and/or volunteer at a free dental camp. Please contact us if you are interested.