Wellness Initiative

Creating spaces and processes to ensure the wellness of civic catalysts.

The Wellness Initiative is built on the conviction that Kenya needs a sanctuary for civic catalysts — individuals who dedicate their lives to advancing the public good, often at great personal cost. Many have endured threats, imprisonment, exile, and reputational attacks that strain their physical, mental, and emotional health.

This initiative provides resources, safe spaces, and opportunities for rest, reflection, and renewal. It seeks to protect, heal, and restore those who continue to champion justice and democracy, ensuring that their bodies, minds, and spirits remain whole as they sustain movements for change.

Places – The Sanctuary

At the heart of the Wellness Initiative is a planned physical sanctuary, a space designed for healing, creativity, and community. The sanctuary includes administrative and research hubs, art and recreational spaces, and gardens that nurture calm and reflection. Embedded within its local ecosystem, the sanctuary connects civic catalysts with opportunities for work, retreat, and collaboration.

Spaces

The programme links civic actors to wellness spaces across Kenya and the region, from retreats and counselling centres to creative residencies and reflection events. It maps and connects partners in health, legal aid, and psychosocial support to provide holistic care. Through these networks, civic catalysts gain access to resources, training, and debriefing sessions that promote rest, reflection, healing, learning, and investment in their well-being.

Processes

The Wellness Initiative promotes wellness as a continuous process rather than a one-time service. It forges partnerships with organisations across East Africa to coordinate emergency response, mental-health support, and advisory services. The initiative also builds the capacity of organisations to assess and strengthen their internal wellness policies, while advocating nationally for frameworks that prioritise mental health, safety, and well-being in civic spaces.

Wellness Resources

General

Emotions

Empathy

Yoga With Adriene

The yoga channel where you can find yoga for anxiety management, stress management, and help with PTSD.

Stress Responses

The Holistic Psychologist – How Our Nervous System Affects Us
Kati Morton – Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Understanding Your Stress Responses
University on Michigan Health – Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation
1st Contact – Butterfly Hug to help with ongoing traumatic stress

Thinking/Mindset

Mind Tools – Thought Awareness, Rational Thinking, and Positive Thinking
Mind Tools – Reducing Stress by Changing Your Thinking
Psychology Today – Cognitive Restructuring Method
The World of Work – Positive Language

Public Mental Health Services

Level 6 Facilities

Inpatient mental health services:

National level:

Mathari Hospital (700-bed capacity) provides specialized mental health care services as well as training, teaching, and research in Psychiatry and Mental health.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital has a mental health unit (70-bed capacity) offering specialized mental healthcare services and teaching purposes

Outpatient mental health services:

Kenyatta National Hospital offers outpatient services for adult and child psychiatry.

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Level 4 and 5 Facilities

Inpatients County hospitals offering specialized mental healthcare services in 20-25 bed capacity psychiatric units in general hospitals are:

Nyeri County Referral Hospital – Nyeri County
Nakuru General Hospital –Nakuru County
Kisumu Hospital – Kisumu County
Kakamega General Hospital – Kakamega County
Embu Level 5 Hospital – Embu County
Port Reitz Sub-County Hospital – Mombasa County
Machakos Level 5 Hospital – Machakos County
Gilgil Hospital – Nakuru county
Murang’a Level 5 Hospital – Muranga County
Meru Teaching & Referral Hospital – Meru County
Isiolo County Referral Hospital – Isiolo County
Siaya Hospital – Siaya county
Kisii Teaching & Referral Hospital – Kisii County
Kerugoya County Referral Hospital – Kirinyaga County

Outpatient mental health services: In addition to the above-named hospitals, all the other hospitals may offer care services either within the general outpatient clinic or in the general medical wards. There are no psychiatric beds for community residential and daycare facilities.