The Challenge

With Kenya's only public comprehensive cancer treatment center based at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, patients must travel from all corners of the country for treatment. While some accommodations exist, for many patients, paying even the $4 to $5 USD per night for lodging while receiving treatment in Nairobi is simply unrealistic. 

Many patients in active cancer treatment sleep in the hospital's corridors or outside. The well-being of these patients – and their hope for survival – is compromised because they are exposed to the elements, without a place to bathe or prepare a proper meal. 

The KHN Hope Hostel

The Kenya Hope Hostel will:

  • Serve more than 1,000 cancer patients annually
  • Provide free temporary housing and integrated hospital services, such as palliative care and stoma management
  • House an on-site resource center to connect patients and caregivers with cancer information and resources
  • Offer a place where patients can rest during the day.
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The KNH Hope Hostel will not only provide people from around the country a place to stay during treatment, but also a place to heal physically and spiritually.

Lily Koros Tare - CEO, Kenyatta National Hospital

The Partnership

Since the 1970s, the American Cancer Society has built and managed more than 30 Hope Lodge facilities across the United States and Puerto Rico to provide free accommodations for cancer patients and their caregivers during treatment. More than a place to stay, the Hope Lodge facility is a home away from home, offering a comfortable and supportive environment for encouragement and healing. 

With support from the American Cancer Society and the goodwill of Kenyans, Kenyatta National Hospital will build, own, and operate the hostel for the hospital's cancer patients most in need. 

A tract of land at the Kenyatta National Hospital campus has been earmarked by the hospital as the future site of the KHN Hope Hostel. 

How to Help

An investment in the Kenya Hope Hostel will increase the number of Kenyans who can access treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital. A campaign of $2 million USD will guarantee construction and two years of operating costs for the Hope Hostel facility. In the United States, a project of this magnitude could cost more than $20 million. 

For more information about this project and how to give hope a home in Kenya, contact Kristen Solt at kristen.solt@cancer.org.