Kimbilio Hospice in Uasin Gishu County is the only hospice in Kenya offering funeral services to the community.

The idea was incepted in the year 2011 by the team at the Hospice with a vision of creating a funeral home that could meet the needs of Kimbilio Hospice and the surrounding community.

The need for a funeral home was arrived at after an assessment that identified poor infrastructure, especially roads to the nearest funeral home that is an hour drive away, as an impediment to such services in the region.

Involving the community was part of the process and the overall feedback was positive. There was excitement over such a service being offered in the area from the residents.

Speaking to ehospice, Kimbilio Hospice Managing Director Mr. Joel Sawe said that the funeral home opened its doors to clients in September 2012.

Mr. Sawe said that the home has significantly reduced the cost of funeral arrangements for the locals given that the nearest mortuary facility is in Eldoret, a one hour drive from the hospice.

“We have two ambulances to facilitate our services and the waiting time for our customers is at its minimal.” The Director said.

He said that the services are affordable adding that the modest state of the home compared to other funeral service providers as well as its proximity to the community makes Kimbilio a better choice by clients.

The funeral home, said the director, not only serves Uasin Gishu County but clients from the larger western region of the country including Nandi, Kakamega, Lugari and Malava prefer using the facility.

“We have a capacity to serve 15 clients at a go and in a month, we are able to handle up to 45 clients on average. Our systems are running, we are accessible to the locals as well as the surrounding towns and the quality of our services is high but affordable.” He said.

Before this noble idea was conceptualized, the community used to rely on services from as far as Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

Services provided at the home include;

• Body embalming
• Body preservation
• Flowers
• Caskets
• Tents
• Transportation

Kimbilio Hospice is a 24 bed inpatient facility that provides quality palliative care services to adults and children living with life-threatening illnesses