Money Management
June 8, 2026
In many Kenyan families, people assume that caring for ageing parents will be a shared responsibility among siblings. However, when an emergency strikes, such as a hospital bill, the reality can be very different.
For this edition, Money254 spoke to Martin, one of six siblings of the Oyoo family whose mother's Ksh700,000 hospital bill in 2024 exposed a challenge many families face: how to financially prepare for ageing parents before an emergency happens. Here is there story
Martin explained that his mother is now 80 years old and that, for many years, he and his siblings assumed that if she ever needed serious medical attention, they would simply contribute and sort out the bill together.
After all, there were six siblings who were all working, and the arrangement sounded reasonable in theory.
That assumption was tested in November 2024 when their mother fell at home and required surgery.
What started as an accident quickly turned into one of the biggest financial challenges the family had ever faced.
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By the time she was discharged from the hospital after three weeks, the total medical bill had reached nearly Ksh700,000.
Initially, the siblings believed raising the money would be straightforward because there were six of them contributing and each family needed to raise Ksh117,000. What they quickly discovered, however, was that being six children is not the same thing as having a plan.
While everyone agreed their mother needed help, nobody had prepared for a bill of that size. Some siblings were paying school fees. Others were servicing mortgages, personal and car loans.
The family soon realised that the people they had always assumed were financially comfortable had obligations and financial pressures that were not immediately visible.
For the first time, money became a source of tension within the family. Not because anyone was unwilling to help, but because everyone was trying to solve the same problem from very different financial situations.
According to Martin, the family managed to raise about Ksh340,000, but that still left a significant gap. They also did not want to open a WhatsApp mchango group.
As the pressure mounted, they began looking for assets that could be sold. One of the decisions involved six family cows they had previously bought for their mother.
Under normal circumstances, the cows would have fetched approximately Ksh80,000 each. However, because the family needed money urgently, they sold them for about Ksh60,000 each.
Looking back, Martin estimates that the family lost more than Ksh100,000 simply because they were forced to sell under pressure. The experience taught the siblings an important lesson.
The biggest problem was not the Ksh700,000 hospital bill itself. The biggest problem was the family's lack of preparation.
After their mother was discharged, the siblings sat down and agreed that they never wanted to find themselves in a similar situation again.
Their first step was ensuring that she had medical coverage through SHA. While they understood that the cover would not cater for every medical expense, they believed it would significantly reduce the burden in future. Currently, they pay Ksh6,000 in annual premiums.
Also Read: How I Save for My Kids’ Ksh50K Fees Every Term Without Taking Loans
The second step was creating a dedicated medical fund for their mother. Each of the six siblings contributes Ksh3,000 every month, creating a combined monthly contribution of Ksh18,000.
They opened a joint account and agreed that the money would only be used for their mother's healthcare needs.
To ensure the funds were not sitting idle, 50% of the money was invested in a Money Market Fund while maintaining sufficient liquidity for emergencies.
The arrangement began in January 2025. By May 2026, the fund had grown to slightly over Ksh290,000.
The strategy was tested sooner than expected when their mother required a medical review in May 2025. The total cost of the check-up came to Ksh30,000. While insurance was able to cover Ksh25,000 of the expenses, the family still had to meet additional costs.
According to Martin, some of the prescribed medication was unavailable at the hospital, forcing them to purchase it from a private pharmacy at a cost of Ksh5,000, which was covered by the fund they created.
Unlike the previous hospitalisation, there was no panic. For Martin and his siblings, the biggest benefit of the arrangement has been peace of mind.
Today, the monthly contribution feels like a normal family responsibility rather than an emergency expense.
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