Local

Befrienders Kenya is modeled on the worldwide Befrienders originally founded in 1974 by Chad Varah (founder of the Samaritans), then recently launched as an independent charity in 2012. Befrienders Worldwide is a dynamic and expanding global network of 349 emotional support centres in 32 countries, spanning 5 continents. These centres are staffed by more than 25,000 volunteers who provide vital support to an estimated 7 million service users each year.

Befrienders Kenya provides an open space for those in distress to talk and be heard. This is via telephone helplines, SMS messaging, face to face, internet chat, outreach and local partnerships.

The College of Health Sciences of the University of Nairobi is the leading tertiary healthcare training centre in Kenya and the East Africa region. It was created in 1985 and has its origin in the Faculty of Medicine which was established in 1967. Since its establishment, the College has registered tremendous growth and expansion to become a complex entity. Currently, it consists of Schools of Medicine with 13 departments, Pharmacy (1995) with three departments, Dental Sciences (1995) with four departments, Nursing Sciences (2004) and Public Health (2010). In addition, the College houses the Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (UNITID), the Centre for HIV and AIDS Prevention and Research (CHIVPR) and the East African Kidney Institute (EAKI) which were launched in 2004, 2006 and 2014 respectively.

Alzheimer’s Association of Kenya (AAK) is a non-profit Alzheimer’s association that supports people with dementia and their families. The association was registered in the year 2007 with most of the founding members being individuals who, affected by Alzheimer’s, felt the need to come together and support others in a similar situation; especially care givers. One such person was Elizabeth Kasimu, the current chair of the association, who was prompted to search for answers when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.