Sightsavers Kenya: our work in depth

Learn about our history in Kenya, our local programmes, and how our work supports communities throughout the country.

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Nancy (left) teaches in a school that took part in a Sightsavers Kenya education project, which aims to improve learning for children with disabilities.

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Sightsavers has been working in Kenya since 1952, and the country was home to some of our very first programmes to protect sight.

Today, we have a team of nearly 50 local staff in Kenya who run award-winning projects from our offices in Nairobi and Homa Bay.

Our areas of expertise have expanded from saving sight and tackling infectious diseases to fighting for the rights of women, girls and people with disabilities. Within the sector, we are now recognised as experts in disability inclusion.

Working in 19 counties across Kenya, our national team specialises in:

  • Improving eye health services to make them more inclusive
  • Helping to eliminate trachoma, a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent sight loss
  • Ensuring good-quality education is available for children with disabilities
  • Building the skills of young people with disabilities to help them find work
  • Supporting employers to create inclusive workplaces

Sightsavers Kenya at a glance

  • Work started: 1952
  • Regional office: Nairobi
  • Number of staff: 47
  • Country director: Moses Chege
  • Contact:
    [email protected]

Our projects in Kenya are backed by high-quality evidence

Visit our research centre

Our current projects in Kenya

  • The Maono Refractive Error Project
    Sightsavers Kenya is piloting a social enterprise model in Nairobi to tackle uncorrected refractive errors. We’re working with private optometrists to set up optical shops in public health facilities to deliver affordable, accessible eye health services.
    About refractive error
  • School Health Integrated Programme (SHIP)
    This project aims to ensure teachers and 10,000 school children in Homa Bay receive eye tests and quality eye care.
    More about SHIP
  • Focus on Clear Vision – Accelerating Access to Vision Correction and Glasses
    Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Sightsavers is working with Peek Vision, local partners and ministries of health and education to treat refractive errors in six counties.
    Read the news story
A man smiles standing next to a car.

“When you go to a homestead, you see a grandma who has never seen her grandchildren because of cataracts. You take her to surgery, and when you take her home, you see the happiness when she sees her grandchildren.”

Driver and office assistant David has worked for Sightsavers for 10 years.

Our NTD programmes in Kenya focus on eliminating trachoma. Since 2004, Sightsavers Kenya has carried out SAFE interventions in 54 counties, and the country is on track to eliminate the disease by 2030. Current projects include:

  • Accelerate
    This trachoma elimination programme is supporting at least 15 countries, including Kenya, to eliminate the disease.
    Read about Accelerate
  • Eliminating Trachoma in Kenya
    Our community volunteers go house-to-house to check people for signs of advanced trachoma, conduct surveys to track prevalence and distribute medication in communities.
    About mass drug administration
A portrait image of a man smiling with a Sightsavers logo behind him.

“We've been able to build on the interventions around the persistence of trachoma. We've been able to undertake TT (advanced trachoma) surveys and additional work to ensure we have programmatic adaptations in difficult-to-reach areas.”

Country director Moses has worked for Sightsavers for 20 years.

  • Developing an assessment tool for Education Assessment and Resource Centres
    Working with the government of Kenya and organisations of people with disabilities, this project aims to simplify the assessment of children with disabilities. It aims to provide schools with guidance on how to support a child based on their needs.
    Read the related study on our research centre
  • Early Childhood Development Education in Kenya
    In partnership with Homa Bay County Disability Forum, the Ministry of Education and ICT, we’re training teachers and education officers in Homa County about the importance of inclusive play-based learning for children with disabilities.
    Read our ECDE report (pdf)
A woman smiles with greenery behind her.

“When it comes to inclusive education, the people in offices now, especially people who are blind, most of them will tell you: ‘I was touched by Sightsavers. I'm a beneficiary of Sightsavers. I went to school because of Sightsavers.’”

Senior programme manager Sarah has worked for Sightsavers for 20 years.

  • Futuremakers: Ready for Inclusive Sustainable Development (RISE)
    This project is supporting 2,000 young people to find work by providing training in areas such as job applications and interviews. It is also helping employers to create inclusive workplaces.
    Read about the initiative
  • Taking the IT Bridge Academy Virtual
    Following the success of the first phase, which launched in Kenya, the IT Bridge Academy is now being rolled out to other countries in Africa.
    About the IT Bridge Academy
  • Shayiri Project
    Nearly 200 farmers with and without disabilities in Narok North are being trained in the business side of farming, environmental preservation and inclusion.
A man smiles in front of a yellow wall.

“The IT Bridge Academy ran for one year, and at the end, they did an industrial exam. We had 100 per cent pass rate. Even other academies in the world that did not have people with disabilities, they had never attained 100 per cent pass.”

Programme manager Benedict has worked for Sightsavers for nine years.

Our impact in Kenya

In the 73 years that Sightsavers has been working in Kenya, some longstanding team members have seen first-hand how our presence has grown and the impact we’ve had in Kenyan communities.

Since we started:

  • We’ve provided more than 20 million treatments for trachoma in 23 counties
  • We’ve carried out more than 1.3 million eye examinations
  • We’ve helped to train 1,490 young people in transferable skills that will help them to apply for jobs, attend interviews and remain in employment
  • We’ve supported more than 30 corporate partners to create more inclusive workplaces

John Muriuki is regional director for Eastern Central and Southern Africa, and has worked for Sightsavers Kenya since 2006. He says: “We’re doing things that we could not have imagined 20 years ago, like economic empowerment. When I joined, people would call me a ‘doctor’. Sightsavers was viewed as a medical organisation, travelling doctors carrying out eye operations.

“But the picture now is completely different in terms of visibility, reach and people getting to know Sightsavers, all the way to the community level. In some of the communities, you can see real, real change.”

Read about Sightsavers’ history and achievements in Kenya

Sharon wearing a mortarboard with a white tassel.
It has changed my life, educated me, trained me and empowered me.
Sharon graduated from our IT training programme in Kenya. Read her story
One thing that motivates us as a team is seeing the difference we make on the ground, interacting with people and seeing the progress they’ve made.
Moses Chege, Sightsavers Kenya country director