In the bustling city of Mombasa, Kenya, is an unassuming orange and purple gate. You’ll usually find a queue of people waiting patiently out front, dust from the road settling around their feet.
Follow them inside and Pamela Odiero Makokha – owner of Meditrust Healthcare Services clinic – will greet you with a wide smile and outstretched arms, whether you’re barefoot or wearing high-heeled sandals.
Pamela and her husband opened the center when they moved to the city in 1994.
“When we moved to Mombasa, we found that the government health facilities were overstretched,” says Pamela. “The health needs of people in the community were just not being met. We knew we could help since he’s a doctor and I’m a midwife. So we started our own clinic.”
Despite their good intentions, running the clinic was challenging for the couple. And their long hours at work didn’t always translate into a steady stream of patients, supplies or equipment.
So a few years ago, Meditrust Healthcare Services joined PSI’s Tunza Family Health Network of clinics.
Tunza is a franchise, much like a UPS store. When you mail a package through UPS – whether you’re in Washington state or Washington, DC – you expect quality service and consistent pricing from a reliable shipper. Tunza clinics across Kenya operate the same way for families. Patients know they will receive affordable, reliable, high-quality health services and products when they turn to a Tunza clinic.
As part of the Tunza network, Pamela and her husband receive on-going training, business support, outreach, supplies and equipment.
“More people know and trust our services because we are a part of the Tunza network,” says Pamela.
Their hours are still long, but Pamela and her husband are making a much greater impact on their community: “It’s gratifying whenever I am able to take care of someone very sick – even if they don’t have money,” says Pamela. “They walk out of the clinic smiling, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction. It keeps me going.”
Through 10,000+ franchisees like Pamela, we reached over 10 million people across 30 countries in 2013.
