In Kenya’s remotest areas where health facilities are sparse and stigma is loud, mental illness often goes unnoticed until it explodes. With fewer than 500 psychiatrists serving a population of over 50 million people, the odds are grim especially for the young people. Unsure of what’s wrong or where to turn to, many families watch in silence as their kins unravel. But a new wave of hope is breaking through the silence.
Amref Health Africa, through its integrated healthcare model Project THRIVE, is bridging this gap. By deploying multidisciplinary teams and embedding mental health support into routine community health services, the project is reaching most isolated communities with holistic care.
Cherotich is one of the countless.
She once dreamed of becoming a teacher. She was bright, full of energy, full of promise and endlessly curious. But when she was 17, something changed. She was cracking.
She began to forget basic things-her uniforms, her homework, her teachers and friends’ names, could say this one minute the next minute she jumps to a totally different thing. She heard and responded to voices no one else could hear. Her peers laughed. Her teachers scolded. No one suspected a mental health condition.
“I thought I was just overworked from a series of activities delegated by my parents,” Cherotich recalls. “But then I started hearing things. I was scared…and no one believed me.”
She became erratic and increasingly withdrawn. Her conditions worsened. During a period of psychosis, Cherotich experienced sexual violence. Unable to recall the event clearly, she was left in emotional and physical turmoil.
“I didn’t know I was pregnant,” she says, her voice trembling. I thought I was dying”
She was expelled from school. Her parents embarrassed and overwhelmed, kept her hidden. Nine months later she gave birth to twins. She was barely conscious, her mind still wandering in the fog.
Then one Friday morning an Amref’s Mobile Vaccine Clinic (MVC) staffed by Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) rolled into the rural village of Keringet. The team, composed of nurses, clinical officers, nutritionist, mental health workers, laboratory technicians, social workers, and Community Health Promoters (CHP)s, while on its monthly outreach mission—bringing healthcare to the last mile.
Jane, one of the newly trained Community health promoters under the Amref Project THRIVE, immediately recognized the signs. Her training had equipped her to identify early symptoms of mental illness and respond with empathy and professionalism.
She gently engaged Cherotich, using techniques she learnt during her training. At first, Cherotich was hesitant but Jane’s calm demeanour helped her open up. She spoke of strange voices, fear and deep sadness, she couldn’t explain.
The MDT psychiatrist alerted by Jane, conducted a full assessment. Cherotich was diagnosed with schizophrenia-
The team worked together. They developed a care plan, arranged regular follow ups and community-based support. Jane visited her weekly ensuring she took her medication. She became her champion.
“Everyday our daughter slipped further. People in the village whispered she could have been bewitched. We could have lost her. We are grateful for Amref and the team that has worked as one in saving her,” says aunt.
Today, Cherotich is healing. Her offspring now toddlers play in the dirt, their laughter echoing a second chance. Without that team working together – without someone trained to identify signs and symptoms of mental health during an NCD check -It was at that outreach- that multidisciplinary team where her life turned around.
In less than two years, Project THRIVE has trained over 1,200 community health promoters, equipping them with skills that are already transforming lives. By embedding mental health into broader non-communicable disease (NCD) outreach, the program ensures that mental well-being is treated not as a luxury—but as essential care.
“Through Project THRIVE, we’ve empowered community health promoters like Jane and other healthcare workers to recognize the unseen, respond with empathy, and bring care to the very last mile. This is what healthcare should look like—whole, inclusive, and life-saving. Thanks to the health care teams who work as one multidisciplinary unit integrating mental health into Primary Health care, ”emphasizes Solomon Mwaniki THRIVE project manager.
By Billian Sawenja: Project Officer, THRIVE project, Amref Health Africa in Kenya