Burning Bush Inc. is a nonprofit devoted to helping others devise ways to help themselves. We believe that able individuals who feel called to help meet the global needs of today should readily answer that call. Accordingly, we chose our name from the story in Exodus 3:4 in which God calls to Moses from the burning bush and Moses answers, “Here am I.” As Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest, “Readiness for God means that we are ready to do the tiniest little thing or the great big thing, it makes no difference…The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul, it is ablaze with the presence of God.” Burning Bush began its humanitarian efforts in 2002 as a strategic partner with Susan Kaburu, a Kenyan RN/midwife, who was seeking to establish and advance the Samaria Maternity Center in her home community of Ndathi, located in a remote area of central Kenya. When the Center became self-supporting in 2009, we shifted our focus to assisting other nurses throughout central Kenya who own and operate private clinics in their communities. Through this work, we have become convinced that the key to improving global health is empowering nurses and community health workers who are on the front lines of treating people with health needs in developing countries.

1. Kenya
www.burningbushkenya.org

2. portfolio presentation
karole sessums / the lola agency
www.happygolola.com
photography
stacey irvin
www.staceyirvin.com
presentation © 2010 burning bush. May be
used by permission only. all photos © stacey irvin 2011.
Kenya Burning Bush, Inc. 501c3. Nashville, Tennessee

3. Who is Burning Bush, Inc. ?
Burning Bush Inc. is a 501c3 non‐profit organiza8on with no 8es to any church, government, or other charitable
organiza8on. We’re simply a group of family, friends, and concerned individuals who saw an opportunity to make a
difference in a remote area of Kenya. We are based in Nashville, Tennessee.
We value freedom of choice, individual worth, and self‐improvement. Our aim is to make a substan/al difference in
rural communi/es of central Kenya by helping individuals and groups solve problems and reach worthwhile
humanitarian goals. We effec8vely oversee and manage private charitable dona8ons, resources, and exper8se in order
to facilitate improvements in health care delivery, support community development ini8a8ves, enable students to
acquire secondary educa8on, and provide short‐term assistance to those overwhelmed by events beyond their control.
Although our funds are freely given, our hope is that beneficiaries eventually will be in a posi8on to offer similar
assistance to others in need, fostering a chain of giving that we believe strengthens the bonds of community.
The money that has been used to build the Samaria Maternity Center, a duplex for staff, visitors students, WAKA
Con/nuing Educa/on Center, invest in nurses training and graduate educa/on, and support microlending groups is a
small amount by American standards. What we have needed has been provided. We have been blessed to be a part of
what’s happening in a small but vibrant area 8,000 miles from our home.

5. Burning Bush Focuses on
Remote Area in Central Kenya

7. Burning Bush a step‐by‐step 8meline
1999 ‐ Partnership begins with Susan Kaburu, Kenyan RN / midwife.
2002 ‐ 2004 ‐ Samaria Maternity Center established in Ndathi, Kenya. This clinic is owned and
operated by Susan Kaburu, Kenyan RN / midwife. Serves a popula8on of approximately 20,000
and offers basic health services including maternal / child.
2005 ‐ Construc8on of the New Samaria Maternity Center Building completed. A duplex was also
constructed for addi8onal staff, visitors, and students.
2007 ‐ The first Microlending Group was formed in 2007 by 28 women, who each received a cash
loan of Kshs5000 (about $69 USD) and a water tank. Today more than 450 women in the area are
par8cipa8ng in micro lending groups.
continues on next page

8. Burning Bush a step‐by‐step 8meline (con%nued)
2008 ‐ Samaria Maternity Center becomes self sufficient, no longer requiring financial support
from outside sources.
2010 ‐ WAKA Con/nuing Educa/on Center construc8on completed in July, 2010 in Nyeri, Kenya,
the provincial capital of this Central Kenya region. It is about 50 minutes from Ndathi. This center
is owned and operated by a Kenyan non profit organiza8on and board of directors. Rosemary and
Eustace Kamunya will be the administrators and teaching faculty along with other Kenyan
educators who have Masters level degrees. Rosemary, a Kenyan RN /Midwife with a Masters
degree in pastoral care of HIV Aids will lead the teaching staff. She as been employed for the past
five years by JHPIEGO, a Johns Hopkins University Interna8onal effort. Her professional experience
includes the training of nurses and other primary health care providers, not only in Kenya, but also in
other parts of Africa and Europe. Eustace, Rosemary’s husband, has a Masters Degree in Educa8on
and is the re8red principal of a Kenyan Medical Training College. In addi8on to offering advanced
training programs for nurses in the Mt. Kenya cluster, the WAKA Con/nuing Educa/on Center will
provide a means for other organiza8ons to channel equipment and supplies to the area.
* 2011 Update: We are so sad to announce that at the end of December, 2010 Eustace Kamunya died suddenly of a
heart aBack. We con%nue to grieve for our loss. As Rosemary and her family work to put their lives back in order
without their beloved Eustace, we their friends at BBI wait to con%nue our ac%ve support.

11. Although health care in Kenya is free it is not accessible to all. It is es8mated that private nurse
prac88oners provide about 42 % of basic health services.
WAKA
Is On the Forefront
of Establishing a
Model for Providing
Advanced Prac8ce of
Nursing Educa8on in
Remote Areas of
Developing
Countries
Caring nurses have a pressing need for con8nuing educa8on, supplies, and equipment.
Con8nuing educa8on courses and other resources are available in Nairobi and other ci8es, but nurses in remote areas
have neither the money nor the 8me to travel outside their area. Moreover, there is no structured means of
dissemina8ng informa8on, equipment, and training from ci8es to remote areas.

13. Burning Bush on Global Health
Nurses are the Key
Our Partnerships with Nurses in Remote Central Kenya
We believe the key to improving global health is empowering nurses and primary health care workers who are on the front
lines of trea/ng people with health needs. These health care providers have varying levels of educa8on—some8mes just two
years of high school—and oien only the most basic training, but are compelled by necessity to engage in the advanced prac8ce
of nursing, diagnosing illnesses and prescribing and dispensing medicine. Frequently delivering care in spite of limited supplies
and equipment, they are self‐reliant, capable, professional, and eager for addi8onal training to increase their competence.
Since Kenya’s health care delivery system does not extend to many rural villages, nurses are oien the only source of medical
care in remote communi8es. Our involvement with the nurses of the Mt. Kenya cluster and the WAKA Con8nuing Medical
Educa8on Center has convinced us that nurses are a cri/cal component in structuring health care delivery systems in
developing countries that reach not only urban centers but also serve remote areas.
Efforts are currently underway in central Kenya to develop the nursing profession through standardized prac8ce, research, and
graduate educa8on. Our organiza8on is ac8vely engaged in suppor8ng these efforts. We hope our investments in training and
equipping health care professionals will lead to the development of a model program that can be implemented in any seTng,
austere or urban, to showcase the cri/cal role of nurses in advancing global health ini/a/ves.
Although health care in Kenya is free, it is es/mated that private nurse prac//oners provide about 42 % of basic health
services. These nurses are not supported by the Kenyan governmental services because they are not employees of the
government. They are the primary care givers yet are lacking the resources and educa8on they need to provide the best care
possible. This improved care will have an enormous impact on improving the health of people living in Central Kenya.

15. Burning Bush Inc.
has become
convinced that the
key to improving
WAKA
global health is
providing
Continuing Education Center Nyeri, Rural Central Kenya
addi8onal training
and other support
for nurses and
primary health
providers who are
on the front lines of
delivering care in
developing
countries.

17. WAKA
Con8nuing
Educa8on
Center
Burning Bush Kenya
Microlending
Group
Mee8ng
Burning Bush Kenya
Samaria
Maternity
Center

19. Readiness for God means
that we are ready to do the
8niest lijle thing or the great
big thing, it makes no
difference…
The burning bush is a symbol
of everything that surrounds
the ready soul, it is ablaze
with the presence of God.
‐ oswald chambers

21. We value freedom of choice, individual
worth, and self‐improvement. Our aim is
to make a substan8al difference in rural
communi8es of central Kenya by helping
individuals and groups solve problems
and reach worthwhile humanitarian
goals.
MicroLending
Burning Bush Inc. is a nonprofit devoted
to helping others devise ways to help
themselves.
see full story at www.burningbushkenya.org

28. Kenya Burning Bush, Inc. 501c3.
Nashville, visit www.burningbushkenya.org for
please Tennessee
more info

29. more photos from central kenya

30. humanity in focus. about the photographer. stacey irvin.
Stacey Irvin is an award-winning photographer with a special gift for connecting with people. She finds it extremely
satisfying to share these connections with others through photography and storytelling. Irvin is drawn to explore and
document indigenous communities, rural life, and the common ties that bind us to one another.
Stacey works to collaborate with humanitarian organizations with missions that encompass the general population’s
greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures and our shared humanity. She has special interest in
promoting preservation and appreciation of rural and indigenous cultures.
Irvin graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University. She currently resides in Nashville, TN.
Recent solo photography exhibitions include The Nashville International Airport and The Parthenon Museum,
Nashville, TN.
Irvin is available for assignment, special projects, and speaking engagements worldwide.
Please visit www.staceyirvin.com to view the artist’s full portfolio. Her humanity in focus project images from Ecuador, The Uighurs
(Northwestern China), and Kenya are extraordinary. Contact the artist for comments, more info and to become a collector.
all photographs © stacey irvin 2011. may not be used under any
circumstances without permission from the artist.