The Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) was established in 2003 to heal self and others by enhancing the links between health and culture, between healing, community, and indigenous ways of knowing, of connecting, of celebrating, or doctoring and of building peace. TICAH links ancient wisdom to contemporary challenges, and elders to youth. They take on new ideas and approaches while mining the wisdom of our ancestors. They seek balance, voice, connection, health, and beauty.

TICAH began with the belief that it is important to bring culture into any conversation or programme aimed to promote health and healing. They have practical goals of healing communities, and the families in them, create better health for themselves. In the face of poverty, poor services, HIV/AIDS and violence, they work with groups to help them support each other, learn from one another and make positive change.

This project, Bringing In the Voices of Elders, takes TICAH's years of work with indigenous elders around health and peace to another level. This project focusses on two difficult social issues that Maasai and Mijikenda communities are facing. Communities where TICAH has built strong relationships.

The treatment of girls by the pastoralist Maasai and the abuse of elders amongst the Coastal Mijikenda are two of the thorniest social problems of today and are in part caused by a conflict between past practise and present need. The aim of the project is not to bring back the past since our world today is different. Let's listen and learn from the voices of those who know the deep values in the traditions. Let's bring what is useful from that wisdom. Let's create a Kenya where daughters can also become doctors, where sons find new ways to survive, where elders are not seen as a threat to change, but can help change happen.