Wema Centre Trust — Love Never Fails

Programme pillar · Wema Centre Trust

Healthcare & Rehabilitation Services

Recovery is patient work — we're here for the long arc.

Medical care, recovery from substance misuse, and psychosocial support for children, families and street-connected adults across Mombasa.

Why this matters

The need we're responding to.

This page includes one image showing the conditions some of the children we work with face on the streets. We've kept it small and in context. If you'd rather skip it, that's OK — the rest of the page works fine.

Street life is hard on the body. The children we meet often arrive with untreated infections, chronic injuries, malnutrition and the weight of substance misuse — most commonly inhalants, glue and khat. Without healthcare and rehabilitation, every other programme we run would be building on sand.

So we start here. We work alongside Coast General Hospital, county clinics, partner GPs and counsellors to make sure every child gets a full health assessment within their first 72 hours with us, and we stay with them through the months of recovery that follow.

An untreated foot injury — the kind of medical need our healthcare programme responds to
The reality we respond to — most often, injuries like this go untreated for weeks.
A caregiver at Wema Centre tending to children in the dormitory
The same child, three weeks later — clinic visits, nutrition, warm bedding and steady caregivers.

What we do

The work, in four parts.

  • Medical assessment & treatment

    Initial triage on intake, ongoing primary care, specialist referrals, dental care and vision screening.

  • Substance-misuse rehabilitation

    Clinical detox where needed, group and individual counselling, and step-down peer support over the long arc.

  • Psychosocial support

    Trauma-informed therapy, play and art-based interventions for children, and family counselling for those reuniting.

  • Nutrition & health education

    Three balanced meals, monthly growth monitoring, and age-appropriate sessions on hygiene, sex education and addiction recovery.

What makes our psychosocial support different

More than treatment — a place to shine.

Clinical care heals the body. But the deeper work of rehabilitation — rebuilding confidence, identity and belonging — happens when a child discovers they are good at something. So our psychosocial support reaches well beyond counselling into structured, competitive programmes where children train, perform and represent Wema alongside their peers.

The results speak for themselves: our choir now performs at national music festivals, while our brass band, chess players and football teams give children discipline, teamwork and the quiet pride of standing on a public stage as themselves.

The Wema Centre Trust choir performing on stage in purple uniforms, led by their conductor
The Wema Centre Trust choir on stage — now a regular at national music festivals.

  • Choir

    National festivals

    Our flagship ensemble rehearses year-round and competes at national music festivals — turning shy newcomers into confident soloists.

  • Brass band

    Brass and percussion training that teaches discipline, listening and the joy of making music together as one section.

  • Chess

    Strategy, patience and focus. Chess gives children a calm, competitive arena to sharpen their minds and back themselves.

  • Football

    Teams, fixtures and fair play. Football builds fitness, teamwork and the everyday belonging of being part of a squad.

  • The Wema Centre Trust choir lined up on stage with a host addressing the audience
  • Members of the Wema choir performing in their purple and white uniforms
  • A Wema choir soloist sings into the microphone during a performance

How we work

Principles we hold.

  • Consent at every step

    Treatment plans are written with the child, not for them. Where children are too young to consent, we work with guardians or court-appointed advocates.

  • Continuity over capacity

    We'd rather walk one child through a full year of rehabilitation than rush ten through six weeks. Recovery rates climb when caseworkers stay constant.

  • Family-aware where possible

    Most children leave Wema and return to families. We design care so that what they learn here transfers to a home — not just a ward.

Impact

What we're working toward.

Numbers pending Wema confirmation before launch.

Children rescued and assessed since 1993
2,400+

Children rescued and assessed since 1993

Time from intake to full health assessment
72hrs

Time from intake to full health assessment

Of children complete primary recovery (target)
≥85%

Of children complete primary recovery (target)

Support this work

Help us keep going.

Donations, volunteers and partnerships keep Healthcare & Rehabilitationrunning every day of every year.

DonateVolunteer or partner

The other three pillars

Programmes work together.