Leah Ambwaya and Gerry Kweya visited this project as part of a GlobalGiving evaluation. Leah said:

We were able visit Dorah Nyanja a Public health nurse who runs a clinic in the slums of kibera.She louded the support she has recieved from CFW in terms of training,grants pertitioning of her facility, fixtures and fitting and the soft loan for drugs.

Ms Nyanja was dearly indedbted to the organisation for supporting her after resigning for her employment in a public hospital.She attests to the fact that the brand name CFW was instrumental in her facility surviving the vicious post election violence that hit Kibera so hard,her facility was not burned down.She says she put into action some of the skills she had recieved during the tarinings offered by CFW on empoweirng communities and building a rapport with them,appreciating them and connecting with them to survive during this difficult time,despite the fact that she was not from the tribe the pre dominantly reside in Kibera and were subject to eviction and burning down the businesses.

As we sat there talking to her she proudly shared her business records with us for scruitiny,she went ahead to pull out a cheque book and issue one to CFW for her loan repayment.She couldnt hide the fact that she is surely empowered.CFW had also recommended her to get a bigger loan from a banking institution which she waas proudly granted.We asked her,"If you had a choice could you change your business location from kibera?",she exclaimed "I cant dare,I have built strong relationship with this community the effects of post election violence have made me stronger and the technical support I recieve from CFW have made me to soldier on".



Gerry said:

When we went to Kisumu we were priviledged to meet the franchaisees from the town in one of their monthly meetings,the participants were very enthuastic in having us in there proceedings.

A few minutes of listening to their discussions,we heard some of the challenges faced which included serving the very poor in the community.These people are expected to pay some little money for the services provided.In a nutshell,some of them just cant."We are serving the most under priveledged members of the community.All they know when they see the brand name CFW is a miracle at their doorsteps".Says Veronica Anyango of Maisha Bora CFW clinic."what do you do is such instances?" we posed "As much as you want to do charity,you also need your business to thrive and to sustain yourself"."I am gratefull to be part of the CFW network since I have been trained on endurance and communication,the skills obtained in psycho-social support help me to understand this people and reason with them as to why the should not be used to free things.A small contribution from the clients gives them a sence of pride and self esteem.I keep on reminding them this everytime they walk into my clinic and when I visit some of them during my outreach visits."

After Anyango made this the statement we provoked her further to substantiate her statement,and what she added was that communities need to be empowered with information so that they may realise the ernoumous potentials they have around them which can be translated into financial resources.She gave examples of kitchen gardens,formation of compost and farm manures by recycling garbage etc.I thought this was quite interesting to be flagged out as an outcome of an outcome in a project cycle.

In order to reduce dependancy among communities,I think listening to some of the recommendations from this franchaisees is critical for purposes of contuinity,community ownership and self reliance.

From my observation Anyango believes further community engagement using CFW networks is the sure way of creating sustainability.As much as she didnt understand where the support she has recieved comes from,part of which is through global giving,she was more than sure that somebody somewhere has brought her this far in her business and service to the community.

As we drove through mandate slums in Kisumu, the CFW clinic was outstandingly poised next to vegetable kiosks with a bee hive of activities. Women and men selling all types of ware, children roaming around. Mt. Everest CFW clinic was the name on the walls. We opted to walk in and introduce ourselves to the gentleman who was seated behind the counter. Apparently he was the husband to the Francisee Ezinah Inyange. He says, “I don’t think I can explain anything, my wife owns the clinic and am just sitting in for her.” So we inquire on her whereabouts, and he tells us that she is attending a meeting with the other franchisees at Riat on Kisumu / Busia road.

To our surprise, he even went ahead to call her on his mobile phone and inform her of our presence at the clinic. ‘This is a clinic, everyone who walks in is our guest’ says Mr. Inyanje, “my wife is a nurse, she is the professional and for now she is out for a meeting, I can only sell things like paraceatamols”. He then gave us directions to the venue of the meeting place. As we walked around, we met a bodaboda cyclist and inquired from him if there was any hospital in the vicinity, “the CFW hospital?” he asked, it is just ahead, walk on” , he said. Right ahead of us we could see the clinic well branded.

There was a group of women and one man, they were all nurses, and they were having their monthly cluster meeting. We sought to talk to Ezinah.

“CFW has been very helpful, they have stood by me, my shop was looted during the post election violence, we were left with nothing, but they helped me restock my clinic, times are tough yes, but they offer a shoulder to lean on.” Says Edina. She says that she has learned to move on because she owes her service to the community. She wondered if CFW could think about an insurance fund to cater for any such disasters that might affect the franchisee clinics or shops.

CFW has kept us updated on any emerging issues in the medical sector; they facilitate us to bring services closer to the people. I wish to be fully involved in the immunization of children, but have the challenge of having coolers for the vaccines. KEPI provides coolers that can be used in areas without electricity, however, for me, I am lucky to have electricity supply; therefore a fridge would be an ideal gift for Ezinah.

Do you know who supports your work? “No, but whoever it is, am truly grateful” she says.

She appealed for the cost of the drugs to be reviewed, “the cost is high that I have to struggle to survive in business. We have just received the revised price list and that is what we are discussing here today, the prices have shot up so drastically, I trust that CFW will do something about this new prices” she concludes.

Some of the other francisees we met included, Eunice Omollo - riat clinic, Merab Ojal –Kapolo clinic, Jeniffer Mary Oliech- mamboleo clinic, Wilson Rajula-Ragegni clinic, Symprose Anayngo-maisha bora clinic, Janet Kamar-Fahelma clinic.


Leah and Gerry said that they would tell their friends this project is "incredible: You need to see this!"

GlobalGiving is committed to incorporating many viewpoints on our 600+ projects. We feel that more information,especially from eyewitnesses helps donors like you continue to support organizations doing great work in the community.

Attachments:

• CFW_shops_evaluation_May_2009.pdf (PDF)
  
• CFW_shops_eval_part2_May_2009.pdf (PDF)
  

We are pleased to announce that Spencer Ochieng, a qualified pharmacist with an MBA from the American University of Kenya, joined us as Country Manager in Kenya in January 2009. Spencer brings years of experience and training in management, marketing, and sales to our Kenya operation and is providing the inspirational leadership to drive the business forward. Click on the link below to see a photo of Spencer.

Pictures:

• Photo (JPG)

In Fall 2008, 15 new CFWclinics were opened in Kenya, bringing the total in Kenya to 82 outlets! Congratulations to the 15 new CFW franchisees who have successfully completed CFW training and are now open for business serving their communities with lifesaving healthcare. I've uploaded a photo of one of the new outlets--click the phrase below to view it.

Pictures:

• A New CFWclinic in Kenya--Open December 17, 2008 (JPG)

The NOW television program on PBS aired an 18-minute documentary on the CFWshops network in August 2008, a follow-up to their Emmy-award-winning documentary of May 2007.

Watch it for free using the link below.

Links:

• August 2008 PBS Documentary

The NOW television program on PBS aired a 25-minute documentary on the CFWshops network in May 2007 which subsequently won the Emmy award for best business documentary of 2007.

Watch it for free using the link below.

And tune in on Friday August 22, 2008 as NOW on PBS broadcasts an update on the CFWshops network.

Links:

• http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/321/index.html

CFWshops closed out 2006 having served over 470,000 people, bringing the total served since inception to over 1 million! Recently, PBS featured CFWshops in Kenya on their NOW show. Follow the link below to see the 20 minute video. Also, take a moment and read the June issue of our newsletter to see how far we've come in our mission to provide essential medicines to the rural poor of Kenya.

Links:

• PBS Features CFWshops in Kenya!

Attachments:

• CFWshops June Newsletter (PDF)
  
• CFWshops Summary Operating Statistics (PDF)
  

As of the end of September, CFW Kenya has served 337,476 patients in 2006, maintaining the amazing success rate of 2005. Since inception, CFW Kenya has served over 950,000 patients!

We continue to transform pharmacies to clinics that are staffed by nurses, providing a greater array of diagnosis and treatment. As of September 2006, we have 41 CFW clinics and 24 CFW shops.

The main diseases that we treat are respiratory infections, malaria and intestinal worms. With the success and efficiency of our micro-franchise model, we have kept the average treatment cost well below one dollar at $.65.

Click below to see pictures and read a clinic spotlight!

Attachments:

• CFW Kenya in 2006 (PDF)