On Mfangano Island, we are working to prevent HIV and reduce teen pregnancy by bringing honest, age-appropriate health education directly to adolescents ages 10–18. Our team has visited every single school on the island (34 in total!) and hosted 4 sessions for adolescents who are not able to attend school so that every child has access to the same life-changing information. 

Our Community Health Coordinator, Veronica Aono, leads these talks. Veronica has lived on Mfangano Island her whole life, allowing her to approach these talks with real cultural understanding and connection to her community. She also has formal training in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics and certifications in clinical nutrition Research and Good Clinical Practice (GCP). 

Veronica will return to every school in the upcoming school year to assess students’ understanding, reinforce key topics, and fill any remaining questions. Sometimes the most important questions arrive after students have had time to think, talk, and process. 

By going school to school, and then coming back again we are building a foundation of knowledge, confidence, and self-advocacy that young people can carry for the rest of their lives. Because prevention starts long before crisis. It starts with understanding.

In Kenya, about 65% of women and girls cannot afford basic menstrual products, contributing to missed school days, health risks, and social stigma. We are addressing period poverty with an integrated solution that trains women to become seamstresses and make reusable menstrual pads that can last up to five years. This program not only provides girls and women with a sustainable menstrual health solution but also gives women a skill they can use to support themselves and their families.

Many children in Mfangano are unable to attend school because their families cannot afford the annual cost of school supplies and uniforms. Through our yearly scholarship program, we help disadvantaged students access the education they deserve and stay in school.

We provide women with training sessions and the supplies they need to make and sell soap as a source of income. This holistic approach addresses the economic disadvantages women face on Mfangano and gives them the skills, resources, and opportunities to build independent incomes and have greater freedom to choose their future.

Mfangano Island is a largely agrarian society. Food is largely sourced from fishing in Lake Victoria and growing crops on small plots of land.

Zuri Life has partnered with women on Mfangano Island to install vertical gardens that support female-led agriculture and food security. Additionally, we have installed fences to protect crops from wandering livestock, allowing women to grow fresh vegetables, improve their families’ nutrition, and reduce their overall cost of living. Zuri Life has also built community fish drying tables to support safer, healthier fish processing on Mfangano Island.