Hold on to your dream

By Kiundu Waweru

Most leaders of repute, when interviewed, say one book that has inspired them is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. And indeed, in the book’s forward, Hill writes that the book is a result of a 20-year research on great men in history, leaders who thought their way to great fortunes, riches and success.

To most people this is fanciful thinking; but to each of us, if we silently listen to the testimony of our own, quietly told in a motherly voice, with eyes gleaming behind spectacles and laughter breaking in a face that retains its youthful beauty and enthusiasm, then we will be inspired to dream and pursue our dreams, even hindered by a thousand obstacles.

Dr Betty Gikonyo, the Chief Executive of The Karen Hospital, urges those who have dreams to continue dreaming and working to turn them into reality. [PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE/STANDARD]

The testimony is that of Dr Betty Gikonyo, a paediatric cardiologist, whose story cannot be told without mentioning that of her husband, the President’s personal physician, Dr Dan Gikonyo. They have led identical lives, since their days at the University of Nairobi, when they fell in love and married in their fifth year of medical school. Later, they were posted to Nakuru, returned to the University of Nairobi to pursue post-graduate degree before going to the US for specialisation studies — Betty in child and Dan in adult cardiology. And it is in America that the dream was born.

"It was in the winter of 1986. We were both at the University of Minnesota. Seeing what was being done there, we dreamt of heart patients’ back home having an affordable medical facility. We shared the dream with James Mageria and John Wamugi, who were also in America," Gikonyo says from her office at The Karen Hospital, where she is the Chief Executive.

She has been in this office for three and a half years, since March 2006, when President Kibaki officially opened The Karen Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility in the suburb of Karen. Remarkably, the dream took exactly 20 years to become a reality.

Medical charity

"Not so many people are lucky to live their dreams in their life times. But I would like to tell them this, if you have a dream, continue dreaming; open your eyes and start acting on it; it does not matter how long it takes, as long as you are working on it; you are doing your part."

Indeed, after 1986, the doctors started on their dream in phases. "First we set up the Nairobi Heart Clinic, with two doctors and one staff. In 1989, we bought ten acres of land in Karen. In 1991, we initiated the registration of Nairobi Heart Institute, the precursor to The Karen Hospital."

And at conception of the dream, the couple had envisioned a medical charity. Thus in 1993, the Heart-to-Heart Foundation was officially launched, and it has reached more than 350 people with heart conditions. Gikonyo is the Executive Director, and her charity work, which she describes as one of her life’s passion, has won her presidential awards.

She insists one must keep working on their dream, reviewing and analysing it. Thus, in 2000, they revised the plan after an updated feasibility study. After marketing the business plan vigorously, in mid 2003, a leading bank agreed to be the sole financier of the project. "In the same year, we embarked on the ground breaking for the hospital project, procured medical and non-medical equipment."

Finally, the 20-year-old journey saw the completion of the hospital in October 2005. The hospital opened its door to the public in January the following year.

"Today, the Karen Hospital has ten resident doctors and 180 consultants, according to the workload because hospitals work more or less like a hotel — they have low and high seasons," says Gikonyo.

And speaking of hotels, the hospital has the ambience of a five-star hotel. Done in cool light green colours, the reception doesn’t give a hint of a hospital; the receptionists in red welcome you smiling. Even patients seem to carry their ailments in stride. Gikonyo says the hospital has a 100-bed capacity, but she acknowledges that the bulk of clients are outpatients.

Ultimate vision

And the dream does not stop there. Gikonyo says their ultimate vision is to be a world class medical and education provider — The Karen Group of Hospitals would like to ensure that by 2016, the exodus of patients seeking specialist services overseas reduces.

Gikonyo finds her strength in her self-confessed energy. "I have so much energy that my husband says I am more hard working than he is. But really, I think this is because of the women’s ability to multi-task."

One sure way to succeed is to train your staff, then even when you are not around, your business will run the way you would want it to.

Gikonyo says they have achieved all that as a team, and she hopes her story will inspire everyone. "Nobody gave us the road map when we started the journey of life. Many times we have had to clear the forest along the way to create a road. This story is told to inspire and influence people to dream big. Neither age, station in life, our circumstances or the environment should deter us from dreaming big with our eyes wide open."