In 2019, Neema started providing young women with trauma-informed counseling and it immediately became an essential pillar of our program alongside skills training and discipleship. Our counseling program isn't just filling a gap of access to mental health support, it’s creating an environment where students can freely express their feelings and concerns, helping them navigate past traumas and build resilience for the future. 

Our dedicated counselors have been working tirelessly to extend these benefits beyond Neema's campus by going to local public schools in the community and holding monthly counseling sessions with students’ guardians. Here's how this outreach program is making a difference:

1. Quarterly Counseling Sessions in Local Schools: Our counselors conduct regular sessions in primary public schools, bringing mental health support to young boys and girls who might otherwise lack access to mental health resources. We're tackling big issues like self-esteem, goal-setting, relationships, drug abuse, and peer pressure. These workshops are equipping students with essential coping strategies and life skills.

2. Group Workshops with Students’ Guardians: Every first Friday of the month, guardians come to Neema to visit the students and attend a counseling session hosted by our counselors. They address issues like the mental wellbeing of children, being a role model to children, healthy communication at home, domestic violence, and more.

3. Teacher Transformation: In Kenya, counseling in schools is done by teachers who in most cases never had any counseling training. So we're equipping local teachers with counseling skills, amplifying our impact.

The results? They speak for themselves. One local school headmaster said that, because of our program, only two young women dropped out of school because of pregnancy last year. This is a huge achievement in an area where teen pregnancies are very common (about 50% of Neema’s students have a child by the time they join Neema.)

"I came here with a lot going on in my life feeling so stressed but I am leaving here healed and better at heart.”

- Esther, a guardian to one of our first-year students -

These positive changes are possible thanks to your continued support. Every gift helps us reach more individuals, nurture more minds, and transform more lives. Donate today to help us sustain and expand this critical service to the community.

Together, we're building a stronger, more resilient community—one counseling session at a time.