Kenya
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19,206
Total Church Membership
3
Stakes
69
Congregations
5
FamilySearch Centers
1
Missions |
History
American USAID employees and families serving in Kenya in the 1970s held Church services in their own homes. The first African converts in Kenya were baptized in 1979. The first two missionaries, Elder Farrell and Sister Blanch McGhie, arrived in 1980, and in 1981 two branches (small congregations) were created in Nairobi and Kiboko. The Church received official recognition in 1991, and that same year missionary headquarters were established in Nairobi.
In 1988 the Church donated funds that were collected by means of special fasts to bring water to 15 Kenyan villages located 100 miles from Nairobi. The water systems were installed by 1989. In 1992 the Church provided food staples to Somalian and Kenyan refugees affected by severe drought conditions.
On 21 October 1992 a six-acre plot of Church land was planted under the direction of Church agronomist Joel K. Ransom, and a self-help project was expanded later to property owned by members. This resulted in the harvesting of vital crops.
By 1994 four districts, with several branches each, had been created and large congregations attended many of the meetings. Two of these districts were later dissolved. The first meetinghouse was completed in July 1994 for the Longata Branch in Nairobi.
A Church humanitarian community water project in 1994 provided personal water taps to hundreds of families. In February 1998 President Gordon B. Hinckley became the first Church president to visit Eastern Africa. He spoke to 900 members who had gathered from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia.
The Nairobi Kenya Stake was organized on 9 September 2001, the first stake in Kenya.
For Journalist Use Only
Solomon E. Luvai
Phone: 254 20 242939
Fax: 254 733 901 725
Africa
Total Church Membership
849,568
Members
2,721
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
6Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,298,181
Members
2,113
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
10Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
507,748
Members
1,296
Congregations
Missions
35Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,637,503
Members
18,423
Congregations
Missions
175Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
120Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
599,065
Members
1,308
Congregations
Missions
17Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
11Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,320,129
Members
5,629
Congregations