How Missionaries Created A ‘Perfect Environment’ Without Drugs And Alcohol
Photo courtesy of Moffat Bible College
NAIROBI, Kenya — The little settlement of Kijabe, about a two-hour drive northwest from the capital, Nairobi, stands out as the only drug- and alcohol-free town in Kenya thanks to the legacy of American missionaries that arrived here over a century ago.
The spiritual footprints of Rev. Charles E. Hurlburt, a missionary born in Iowa and raised in Ohio, are still visible in this quiet enclave tucked deep in a lush forest at the foothills of the Great Rift Valley.
Hulburt, as director of the Africa Inland Mission, is credited with establishing the AIM’s mission station in Kijabe in 1903. AIM missionaries are noted as having enforced strict prohibitions on various practices that were popular among the natives, including alcohol consumption and polygamy.
READ: Anglican Church Helps Change Lives In Uganda Through Farming
In a country staggering from the vicious spell of alcohol and drug abuse, rendering many youth incapable of engaging in productive work, Kijabe has soberly enforced an unbending policy shielding its 2,000 inhabitants from the lure of such vices. Kijabe is, in many ways, unlike any typical Kenyan town. Nobody smokes openly. There are no bars or nightclubs, and you are unlikely to see a drunk staggering down the street. This is the only town in Kenya where you cannot find a store that sells cigarettes or liquor.
“I’ve lived in this town for the past 15 years, and I’ve never seen anybody smoking in this town — at least not publicly,” Stephen Chege, a resident of the town, told Religion Unplugged. “Those who wish to smoke can only do it in hiding, or they go out of town.”
Chege said it is impossible to secure a liquor license, and businesses are prohibited from selling cigarettes or other drugs, such as marijuana, which has become legal in many Western nations over the past few years.
Everything in Kijabe seems to perpetrate the pious demeanor envisaged by its founders — from the carefully manicured streets that line the town’s boulevards to the naming of its schools — many of them are associated with the African Inland Church.
Wikipedia Commons photo
On an ordinary day, the sounds of children singing nursery rhymes mingles with the water flowing down a brook at one end of the town and the frantic chirping of birds in the tranquil woods. A stroll across town reveals a few quaint mansions from a bygone era, huddled among the newer structures and still standing strong, their walls reddened by years of rain splashing the reddish earth.
Missionaries — mostly foreigners — and their families are a common sight strolling the town’s tree-lined streets. The alleys and streets are aptly named to reflect the town’s Christian heritage.
The main road to Kijabe stems from a major highway connecting the capital with towns in western Kenya and winds through verdant acreage of pristine tropical forests, cascading the expansive woods in a series of razor-sharp bends. To the northwest of Kijabe rises the imposing Mount Longonot from the Rift Valley, its domed peak abutting the firmament like a clenched fist.
“This is a generally quiet town,” Chege said. “Crime is very minimal, and people here are generally peaceful. The nights are quiet and serene. No rowdy parties or unruly behavior. I cannot recall any incidents of violent crime, as is the case in some other parts of the country.”
A number of the country’s most respected schools share this address, and most are affiliated with churches. Notable among these is the Rift Valley Academy, a school that was principally set up to provide a Christian-centered and holistic education to the children of missionaries serving in Africa.
Here in this reclusive paradise is the AIC Kijabe Hospital, one of the country’s more prominent health care facilities with a reputation for embedding a spiritual component with medicine. In this mission hospital, health care providers not only provide clinical treatment but also take the time to pray with their patients.
Founded by AIM missionaries in 1915, the hospital was initially named Theodora Hospital in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. Roosevelt, at the time retired, laid the foundation stone for the mission church and the RVA in August 1909, during an expedition to Africa.
Other notable institutions include the Moffat Bible College, which trains its students to take up roles in Christian ministry, and the Africa Inland Church Kijabe Printing Press, which is dedicated to the production of Bibles and Christian literature.
Chege, a father of two, said Kijabe provides an unmatched location to bring up morally upright children.
“This is the perfect environment to raise my children,” he said. “I’m very proud to have my family here, particularly because my children are still young. Most of the people I know who grew up in this town were unexposed to drugs and alcohol, and many of them remain that way in adulthood. I am very confident that Kijabe has provided a foundation for my kids to grow up drug-free and untainted by these pleasures.”
Joseph Maina is a Kenyan journalist. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Nairobi. For the past decade, he has served as a correspondent for various print and digital publications in his native Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa.