THE HISTORY OF KIBOGORA HOSPITAL

The Pioneers

In 1935, the first Free Methodist mission in Central Africa was opened by a Mr. Haley in what is now Burundi. Between 1935 and 1942, four mission stations were established in Burundi, together with schools and dispensaries. In 1942 Mr. Haley succeeded in obtaining a site from the government near the southern tip of Lake Kivu to establish the first Free Methodist mission station in what would become Rwanda, the site was known as Kibogora.
Frank and Hazel Adamson, who had been working at Rwintare in Burundi, were given the task of setting up the Kibogora mission. By the middle of 1942 Frank, Hazel and their three children, David, two, Myra, seven, and Merlin 12, arrived at Kibogora.

By 1945, an orphanage, school and dispensary had been established. Two qualified nurses were working in the mission dispensary treating more than 200 patients per day, 95 students were in the school, and 27 school chapels had been opened in outlying areas.

The first doctor came to Kibogora in 1963. Dr. Esther Kuhn was then the only doctor for 120 miles. A new ward building, providing 35 beds was constructed in 1966 by Rev. Phil Kline. In 1967 Dr. Floyd Hicks, Dorothy Orcutt R.N. and Dale Nitzche, a nurse anesthetist began the surgery programme and in 1968 the surgical and obstetric unit was constructed by Phil Kline and Dale Brock. Dr Al Snyder arrived in 1968 and in 1974 he and Rev. Allen Nelson supervised the construction of a new ward. With this new building the number of hospital beds expanded to 110. By mid 1974 Dr. Snyder was joined by Dr. Dave Crandall and for the first time Kibogora had a two Doctor medical team. By now a pattern had been set, with a succession of doctors. With continued development the hospital had grown to 175 beds and a total of ten buildings.

The Genocide

In the early 1990s, many acts of violence took place in Rwanda, but there were no incidents in the Kibogora area. On Saturday, May 29, 1993, the violence came to Kibogora. At around 2pm, two grenades exploded in the crowded market at Kirambo, a few miles from the hospital, causing many deaths and massive injuries.

On April 6, 1994, President Habyarimana was killed when his plane was blown up returning from a peace conference in Dar es Salaam. This pushed Rwanda into renewed civil war, political massacres and genocide.

By the evening of April 7, armed mobs were roaming in Kibogora and prominent local Tutsis and their families were massacred, together with moderate Hutus. In a period of only a few months, hundreds of thousands were massacred and more than one million displaced within Rwanda and in camps in neighbouring countries. In the next few weeks, a number of long-serving members of Kibogora staff lost their lives or had members of their family killed; others were forced to flee.
On Sunday, April 10, the militias invaded the hospital and killed patients, hospital staff and those who had sought refuge. It is estimated that 130 men women and children died that afternoon.

The Present

The hospital has been reopened and re-equipped and where necessary new staff appointed. Refugees have returned to Kibogora, each with their own story; lost children have been reunited with families and a sense of normality has returned.
There is no longer a large expatriate staff at the hospital, the management now being in the hands of Rwandan doctors. Medical assistance is provided by visiting specialists from overseas. Their stay may be for a month or a year, depending on the need and availability of the specialists. Sheila Eterington OBE is now only  medical missionary living permanently at Kibogora..
In the 60 or so years the mission has been at Kibogora, the needs of the population have changed but not decreased. Poverty, malaria, AIDS and other debilitating diseases have a devastating effect on many lives. The need for additional funds to treat patients is never ending; the limited medical resources mean that many die who could be cured. The work started in 1942 goes on.

Anyone looking for further information on this subject, the following books are available:

'The Adamsons of Kibogora' by Glen Williamson
'On a Hill Far Away' by Dr. C. Albert Snyder