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About School of Chaplaincy

Our history

The Tenwek Hospital College – School of Chaplaincy was established in 1991 as the L. Nelson Bell Chaplaincy Training School. Dr. Ernie Steury, who was the first doctor to serve at Tenwek Hospital, realised that the institution needed full-time chaplains to serve alongside the dedicated medical team. There was no college or university offering training in chaplaincy at the time, and that gave birth to the vision of opening one at Tenwek Hospital.

Over 29 years later, the school had trained more than 200 students from various African nations including Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Due to changing chaplaincy needs, the school has redesigned and upgraded its curriculum. This ensures consistency with the ongoing development of competency-based curriculum in all institutions of learning in Kenya. The school is working closely with Technical and Vocational Education and Training – Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council (TVET – CDACC) in the development of Certificate and Diploma in Chaplaincy curricula that is nearing completion. The school envisions developing other areas of specialisation in chaplaincy alongside further study levels to advance chaplaincy as a field of professional growth.

Milestones

A concise chronology of the School of Chaplaincy, from founding to today’s curriculum and partnerships.

  1. 1991

    L. Nelson Bell Chaplaincy Training School

    The School of Chaplaincy opens at Tenwek Hospital: the first dedicated response to the need for full-time, professionally formed chaplains alongside the medical team.

  2. 1991–2020

    Formation across Africa

    In the decades following its founding, the school trained more than 200 students from Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), among others.

  3. Today

    Competency-based curriculum & TVET – CDACC

    The curriculum has been redesigned and upgraded to align with competency-based education in Kenya. The school partners with TVET – CDACC on Certificate and Diploma in Chaplaincy programmes nearing completion, with a vision for further specialisations and study levels.