As a global team of more than 90 multidisciplinary teammates located in 20+ countries, we are proud to be a team full of diversity and rich culture. To showcase the unique strengths of our greatest asset – our people – we are launching a Q&A series to share more about Medic’s roles, culture, mission and values.
In our inaugural conversation, we sat down with Medic Finance Officers, Charles Macharia and Ian Njihia Kamau, both integral members of the Internal Operations team. Read on to learn more about who they are and how truly connected to Medic they are.
What inspired you to join the Medic team? What motivates you to show up to work?
Charles: I had been in the for-profit industry for a while and I have always been intrigued by Plato’s quote, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” This drove me to join Medic as we are working towards advocating for Universal Healthcare by building open-source software that can be used by all without necessarily looking at the profit-making value. For me, to be able to figure out and understand how we are shaping and developing the community motivates me to wake up and show up every day.
Ian: I have always been interested in the development space and I have worn many hats including working in audit. I wanted to have a change and experience something different; Medic offers different opportunities to learn as a result of dealing with different issues and activities happening in program finance but also learning on a broader scale as a result of being in the non-profit sector. Looking at the mission and vision and the impact Medic makes in society gives me the drive to show up to work every day.
What makes you feel more connected to your teammates?
Ian & Charles: Medic has done a great job building team rapport while being a remote-first organization and even during the height of COVID-19. We envision more in-person meet-ups as we try to navigate our life after COVID-19 upheaved our ways of life and work.
How do you see the values and mission of Medic translate in your day-to-day work?
Ian: I believe that Service to Humanity is what we are called to do as individuals. Medic’s values of Humanity and Initiative align to my role. Getting to serve the underserved; those without access to healthcare makes me more motivated to ensure that our financial records are correct and utilized effectively.
Charles: Medic’s value Humanity aligns to my role. Supporting teammates as they go to the field to work with our partners and our larger mission of supporting individuals who otherwise may not have access to healthcare is key in my role as I monitor the funds we receive that are crucial in implementing change.
In brief, please share how a day in your role looks like.
Charles & Ian: Our days are never similar, every day is different and that is what makes working at Medic so exciting. While our roles are very similar to some extent; we support different teammates and thus different projects and initiatives. Charles supports Medic’s largest hub and our Kenya-based teammates while Ian supports globally-distributed teammates across more than 15 countries There are days we do payments, other days we concentrate on invoice checking, and towards the end of the month our efforts go towards payroll processing and month-end closures for the preceding months. In between we have different tasks around project financials and invoice processing for the different projects that we are allocated.
What do you want to be known for?
Charles: I want to be known for accountability; every donation and funds given to Medic should be well utilized in the communities left behind on healthcare.
Ian: Honesty and integrity; that I am able to execute my roles as required.