Update from our January-February Trip to Kenya

March 22, 2026

For a long time, I’ve dreamed of bringing my play therapy training into a workshop setting in Kenya, but I’ve waited on purpose. I didn’t want to arrive as an American “expert” delivering a training to Kenyan professionals. I wanted to do this with Kenyan professionals, shoulder to shoulder, in partnership where the training reflects local realities and local leadership.

Helping Children Heal: A Workshop Years in the Making

We hosted Helping Children Heal: Skills for Counselors in Our Communities and welcomed 27 counselors, social workers, and psychologists from across Kenya—many serving children in hospitals, clinics, schools, and community programs with very limited access to specialized training.

What made it especially meaningful for me was who I got to co-present with.

Merab is a highly trained, master’s-level play therapist, and she brings both depth and cultural fluency to this work. Vespus is a psychologist being mentored by Merab: he’s energetic, engaging, and respected in his community. He also knows the area well and helped with ground logistics in a way that made the workshop actually possible. They are both dear friends and getting to teach alongside them for those two days—learning from one another and blending perspectives—was exactly what I had hoped for.

Co-teaching takes just the right chemistry, and I was honestly nervous about how we would work together. I also told our planning team that if 8 people showed up, I would consider it a success. I looked at this training as our first trial run. My expectations were low and I was prepared for it to be more of a learning and growing experience, and I was just blown away.

Relationship Work That Matters

Beyond the workshop, this trip included the kind of relationship work that doesn’t seem exciting on the surface, but it’s the work of building and maintain relationships. We spent time with local leaders, partners, and supporters reminded us why long-term work matters: trust is built by coming back, visiting again and again.

Serena DeGarmo: A Beautiful Picture of Faith in Action

Serena was not a passive guest on this trip—she jumped in with her whole heart.

She stayed with me for two days onsite at the Wildlife Works facility, met the makers, offered thoughtful feedback on clothing designs, and purchased merchandise for her boutique shop. This was a fresh and meaningful picture of missions work: Serena didn’t only meet and pray and encourage—she put feet to those prayers by investing directly in the people creating sustainable livelihoods.

Along the way, she met and encouraged women’s groups, artisans, our staff, the Wildlife Works team and director, and Lunar at the Njoo Dada Safe Shelter. Since returning home, she has continued sharing the vision of our work—ordering more merchandise and

helping others see what it looks like to love communities through long-term, sustainable partnership.

Njoo Dada: “Come, Sister”

One of the most moving visits was with Njoo Dada (meaning “Come with me Sister” in Swahili)—a registered Kenyan safe house and rehabilitation program in the Nairobi area, for young mothers and pregnant teenagers facing crisis.

Njoo Dada supports girls and young women ages 13–24 by providing safe shelter, counseling, education, and vocational training—including skills like tailoring and baking—so they can move toward stability and financial independence. The director, Lunar, is a licensed counselor and is currently training as an infant-play therapist, which adds such a beautiful layer of trauma-informed, relationship-based care for both the young mothers and their babies.

Their handmade bags are high quality craftmanship made with beautiful African fabrics and a fusion of modern design. But more importantly they support an incredible cause. The production and sales of these bags help fund the day-to-day logistics of caring for the girls, and it felt meaningful to purchase and support that work in a practical way.

We have a few bags left that are still available. They’ve been selling so well, we’re putting in a new order!

Wildlife Works: Conservation That Puts People First

One of the most inspiring parts of this trip was visiting Wildlife Works—a pioneering, community-centered conservation organization best known for managing the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project.

What stood out to me is that Wildlife Works makes conservation practical and human. They start by paying people a sustainable living wage, teaching sustainable farming practices, and producing responsibly sourced clothing that people can purchase—supporting conservation while supporting families. We ordered merchandise for our shop, and I’m excited to share it because it supports both Wildlife Works’ mission and ours.

We met with Vicky at Wildlife Works and made arrangements for Jennifer and Irene (who sew pads for us) to be trained at their facility to operate the new sewing machine and to exchange ideas on design and production improvements for the menstrual pads.

Hadithi: Livelihoods Through Beautiful Work

Visiting Hadithi was another highlight. They support nearly 2,000 vulnerable women’s groups through high-quality basket weaving and other crafts using sustainable materials. It’s hard to describe how powerful it is to see what happens when women have skills, community, and a dignified way to earn income.

A Special Gift: A Sewing Machine from Nairobi Rotary

One especially encouraging moment was receiving a new sewing machine donated by the Nairobi Rotary Club. It’s a simple tool, but it represents something bigger: investment in long-term production, training, and stability.

Thank you for being part of this. Your support is what makes trips like this possible—and what makes it possible to keep returning, keep listening, and keep building what works.