In rural areas of Kenya, to get medical assistance is difficult.

Not only in terms of professional diagnosis but also due to inflated medical costs and the unavailability of free government health services.

The YMA has a clinic and medical dispensary in Garissa, adjacent to the orphanage and schools. These services are run full-time each day by a medical doctor and a pharmacist and operates as a free clinic to the orphanage, schools and also to the poorest in the community.

It also serves clientele who are able to pay for the medical services, but this is not of a significant enough occurrence to come close to meeting costs.

The dispensary is run by the YMA under the approval and authority of the Provincial Medical Officer of Garissa County.

The income of the clinic equates to less than US$2,000 a year. However, the running costs (wages, apparatus, medicine and medical supplies) come to US$24,000 per annum.

Donations for medical dispensaries can go towards either the running of the current dispensary or for the establishment of a new one in an area of the donor’s choosing, to whom the YMA would provide detailed advice.

The cost of running a clinic varies per month due to the different needs of the local community. However, typically the cost is US$2,000 per month for both medicine and the wages of trained medical staff.