Tenwek: The virtuous township where smoking and prostitution are alien

There are no lodgings in the area either. And commercial sex workers, too, have no business there.

Even touts handle passengers with a lot of decorum. Cases of theft are rarely reported in the area.

Welcome to Tenwek Community Complex in Bomet.

A community with a regional referral hospital, a nursing college and five schools – Tenwek Boys, Chebonei Girls, Dr Steury Memorial, Tenwek boarding as well as Tenwek day primary schools.

“It is known to all in the region that Tenwek community complex is a no smoking zone with drinking of alcohol prohibited. It is an old tradition that has been passed from one generation to the other,” said Ms Lily Chumo, a teacher and a resident of the area.

Church doctrines

All the institutions here are sponsored by the African Gospel Church (AGC) which is a leading church in the region.

Many locals subscribe to its doctrines.

Tenwek Falls, a hydroelectric project owned by the hospital, is a tourist attraction all year round. Local and foreign tourists flock the site.

Tenwek Hospital was founded in 1937 and Dr Ernest Steury was its first medic.

Dr Steury is a founder missionary who set up a cottage hospital which, in the last 83 years, has expanded to a regional referral facility with state-of-the-art equipment.

“Tenwek Community has been the epicentre of religious activities in the region and has led to several learning institutions founded on strong Christian values that have shaped the society,” said the Bishop in charge of AGC Kenya, Robert Langat.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018 lauded the Tenwek Community complex for its impact on education, socio-economic development and health.

The President was opening the ultra-modern eye and dental unit constructed and equipped at a cost of Sh275 million with funds from donors.

“In all our institutions, we put God first and espouse strong Christian values in our service to humanity,” said Mr Shem Cheruiyot Tangus, the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the hospital.

Hospital

Tenwek Hospital, whose motto is ''We Treat, God Heals,'' is among the first hospitals in rural Kenya to conduct open-heart surgeries annually.

Patients come from East, West and Central Africa. Hundreds of American doctors, missionaries and African workers reside within the facility.

It also serves as a referral facility for patients from other parts of the country.  Doctors at the facility are also playing a leading role in research on oesophagus cancer, which is a leading killer disease in the South Rift region.

The hospital, funded by many religious-based donor agencies from the United States of America, has a host of missionary doctors.

While the local community did not have electricity supply for years, Tenwek complex lit the place at night with energy from solar panels.

Tenwek High School, established in 1959, is one of the oldest institutions in the region.

School Principal Mutali Chesebe says it has produced leading professionals and politicians in the country.

They include former Council of Governors chairman Isaac Ruto, Turkana Governor Josephat Nanok, former State House Comptroller Franklin Bett, former Minister John Koech and Nairobi lawyer Hillary Sigei.

Others are Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion and Bomet KNUT branch executive Secretary Malel Langat.

Before independence, Chebonei Girls was a sanctuary for girls who ran away from their homes across the Rift Valley region to escape female genital mutilation.

Opinion is divided as to what the name Tenwek means. Some say it refers to 10 weeks — the time missionaries spent to travel to the area from Mombasa — or a place of songs (Tienwogik).

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