Dr. Menya grew up visiting North Alego, Siayo County, where his grandparents lived, frequently during school breaks. During a visit one year, Dr. Menya became gravely ill; he could hardly swallow even a small mouthful of water and struggled to breathe. But there was no doctor in the village. Dr. Menya’s grandmother, Alice Okinyo Wadhier Ong’ang’o, walked with him to the nearest local clinic, which was three hours away in Sidindi, sometimes even carrying him when he could not walk. There, Dr. Menya was placed in a tiny room. He learned that his tonsils had swollen to the size of marbles and were blocking his throat. Despite hardly being able to open his mouth due to the pain, the medical officer informed him that the only treatment was to twist his tonsils out of his mouth with pliers. Two assistants held Dr. Menya down during the procedure, since there was no anesthetic to numb the pain. Immediately after that emergency surgery, Dr. Menya had to walk home three hours through the heat. 

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    A few years later, Dr. Menya had to watch as his mother, Mary Atieno Menya, required a leg amputation after receiving inadequate medical care for a routine foot injury that led to infection. That amputation was the beginning of the end of her. The long trips to Eldoret to get orthopedic help were terrible on a single leg, and she eventually succumbed to complications related to that injury.

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    Those experiences were formative. While that challenge, and others, motivated Dr. Menya to seek medical training in the U.S., he always intended to use that training to help improve healthcare in his ancestral home community in Kenya. Though he no longer lives in North Alego, Dr. Menya still feels a strong connection and wants to help improve the lives of those still living there. He doesn’t want other families to have to lose parents and loved ones due to the lack of available, timely treatment. He doesn’t want other children to require unanesthetized surgery for infections that could be treated with a timely prescription of antibiotics.

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    That’s why he founded Lions Harvest. The goal of the clinic is to provide urgent care services; preventative medicine; vaccinations; pharmacy services; education and training, and well as to offer clean water on site. Dr. Menya passionately believes that these services will help the North Alego community prosper and grow.