NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Getting accepted to Dartmouth wasn't the biggest obstacle Milton Ochieng' faced as a young man from a tiny village in Kenya. It was the $900 plane ticket.
So when his neighbors began selling their chickens and cattle to pay for his trip, they let him know they wanted something in return.
Eight years later Ochieng' has graduated from Vanderbilt University medical school and built a clinic in his home village of Lwala with the help of younger brother Fred.
Before the clinic, Ochieng' says sick villagers often had to be carried for miles just to get to a paved road. But now it serves about 100 patients a day; and the volume is growing because of the high standard of care it provides, even without running water or a consistent electrical supply.
Ochieng' says the clinic struggles to raise operating funds, even with the support of the U.S.-based nonprofit, the Lwala Community Alliance.
Even so, he hopes to expand with a maternity ward and HIV/AIDS wing.