By Prudence Minayo
The story of Dr. Patrick Kibe is a testament of how diligence and hard work pays. The doctor started off as a cleaner at AIC Kijabe Mission hospital before going on to become an ophthalmic surgeon at the renowned hospital.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Pastoral dreams and becoming a cleaner
The third born in a family of ten siblings, scored a C+ plus in KCSE.
As a young man in the 90s, he harboured dreams of becoming a man of the cloth. He successfully sat for an interview at Moffat Bible College but was denied a chance because of age. They wanted someone who was 20 years and above and he was 18.
He went on to work as a cleaner at Kijabe Hospital where he was tasked with cleaning Salome and Wairegi wards-interestingly, this is where he would years later see his patients.
Since he was hardworking and diligent, he was made a storekeeper at the hospital six months after beginning his cleaning job. His role was to keep inventory of medical supplies which he did very well.
He told KTN that one day, the hospital received supplies from an international organization. He arranged the staff very diligently using codes. When he presented the report, it matched with the one from the international donors. The bosses were very impressed since no one had ever done such a nice job.
Training and becoming an eye doctor
People realized his dedication and doctors told him to attend AIC Kijabe School of Nursing. He attended the school and afterwards was sent to Kajiado. In Kajiado, he proved his dedication by singlehandedly running a dispensary
Dr. Kibe then enrolled at a school that focused on optical studies in Kikuyu. He then attended different medical schools across East Africa where he further developed his skills. Kijabe also started offering Diploma courses and he asked to start a unit to take care of diabetic cases.
He pursued both ophthalmic nursing and clinical medicine and was pivotal in the establishment of Kijabe’s eye and diabetic clinic. He attended Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Clinic where he specialized in eye surgery.
To date, he has conducted various eye procedures and treats patients with eye problems. He also imparts his knowledge to those aspiring to be eye doctors having gotten a Bachelor of Science in Medical Education from Masinde Muliro University.
Personal Life
Dr. Patrick Kibe is a father of two daughters. The eldest joined Machakos University for a Bachelor of education degree while the youngest joined Mount Kenya for a Nursing degree. His wife and family have greatly supported him throughout the journey.
