Safari Doctors visions thriving communities in remote settings having access to affordable health solutions and improved livelihoods. The organisation is striving to realise this through efforts to improve health service delivery and capacity building in its target communities. Safari Doctors also operates a youth Health Ambassadors programme, engaging young men and women who receive basic health education and training, to facilitate the work and empower their communities.

The programme engages under-served youth in Lamu County as leaders in their communities, improve access to sexual and reproductive health education, and foster community wellbeing across the villages that Safari Doctors serves.

Pamoja Project applies the approach of Population - Health - Environment (PHE) in addressing linkages between health service deliveries, community - based natural resource management (NRM) and conservation through innovative, cross-sector interventions. The PHE approach understands that lack of access to health, sexual and reproductive services acts as a barrier to community participation in NRM, thereby limiting effective management of both marine and terrestrial resources. The project takes advantage of the unique outreach capabilities of Safari Doctors and Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT- Coast) operating in the same geographies with aligned organisational goals and values.

The project increases the communities’ capacity to demand improved service delivery from local government and help local leaders better understand the issues faced by their indigenous constituents and how to address them. Ultimately, the project visualises its innovation informing Lamu County’s Integrated Development Plan, with potential to scale to the entire County.

As an Innovate and Learn grantee, the project ensures that creative measures are also part and parcel of communicating better the highs as well as the lows the project is facing.

From the onset it was visible that the belief of the community owning their rights and voice posed to be a challenge. However, it’s prudent to note that there is an ongoing shift of positive thinking as more community members become active and intentional in ensuring that they are part and parcel of promoting a safer and healthier environment.

Through a partnership with Skoll Foundation, the team has shared the below wonderful video which documents the journey of the project past its halfway point.