Healthcare and Nutrition

Ensuring Dignified Aging through Comprehensive Care

Older persons deserve access to quality healthcare and proper nutrition that honors their years of contribution to society. At Ethel Foundation, we recognize that healthcare challenges often compound in later life, while many face barriers accessing essential services and maintaining proper nutrition.

Our Commitment

We stand firm in our belief that no older person should suffer in silence or face healthcare challenges alone. Drawing from our deep understanding of the unique health challenges facing older persons, our commitment extends to building comprehensive and accessible healthcare systems that serve those who have served their communities for decades. We strive to transform how society approaches eldercare, ensuring that aging is met with dignity, proper medical attention, and nutritional security rather than neglect or abandonment.

Our Initiatives

Preventive Healthcare & Medical Outreach

We provide technical support to communities by organizing medical camps that offer free screenings for common age-related conditions including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and other non-communicable diseases. Our partnerships with faith-based, private, and public healthcare providers ensure accessibility to geriatric care services where older persons receive medical consultations, diagnostic tests, medications, and referrals at no cost. Through strategic collaborations, we work to bridge the healthcare gap affecting older persons, especially those from vulnerable communities who face complicated and disjointed healthcare systems.

Eldercare Support & Caregiver Training

We support the economic empowerment of volunteer caregivers who provide in-home care services to older persons facing self-care challenges. Our eldercare model not only ensures that older persons receive the care they need but also provides volunteer caregivers with free healthcare services and stipends as incentives for their service. We conduct comprehensive training programs for caregivers and Community Health Promoters (CHPs) on best practices for handling older persons with dignity and respect, building local capacity for sustainable eldercare solutions.

Mental Health & Wellness

We champion mental health support and wellbeing through specialized programs focusing on depression, social isolation, and dementia among older persons. Our wellness initiatives emphasize psychosocial support and community engagement strategies designed to reduce loneliness and improve overall mental health. Understanding that mental wellness is equally important as physical health, we create safe spaces where older persons can engage meaningfully with their communities and maintain their sense of purpose and belonging.

Food Security & Nutrition Education

We support comprehensive nutrition programs that address food insecurity among older persons through targeted food distribution initiatives, dietary education, and community-based nutrition projects. Our approach includes training on home-based food production, harvesting, preservation, and consumption techniques to ensure sustained nutritional well-being. We educate older persons on healthy aging practices, including proper nutrition and disease prevention, empowering them with knowledge to maintain their health independently where possible.

Our Approach

We believe in a comprehensive integrated approach. Our strategies include:

Community-centered care and delivery systems

Working directly within communities where older persons live, ensuring services reach those who need them most

Training and capacity building for care providers and caregivers

Building local expertise and sustainable support systems through comprehensive caregiver education

Collaborative partnerships with healthcare institutions and government programs

Leveraging existing systems while advocating for age-friendly improvements

Evidence-based advocacy and rights of older persons regarding healthcare access and nutritional frameworks for wellbeing

Using research and data to drive policy changes that benefit older persons

The Impact of Our Approach

Healthcare Empowerment

Supporting older persons to access quality, affordable, and age-friendly healthcare services through innovative eldercare models and strategic partnerships.
Our medical camps and healthcare initiatives have served over 5,000 older persons across Kisii, Nairobi, and Nakuru counties. Through targeted interventions for non-communicable diseases, we have significantly improved early diagnosis and treatment accessibility for older persons who previously faced barriers to healthcare.

Caregiver Capacity Building

We have successfully trained and empowered volunteer caregivers who provide essential in-home care services while receiving healthcare benefits and stipends for their invaluable work.
Our eldercare model demonstrates sustainable community-based solutions where caregivers and older persons mutually benefit. The training programs for caregivers and CHPs have built local capacity for dignified eldercare, ensuring older persons receive respectful and competent care in their own communities.

Community Engagement

We have successfully supported older persons in overcoming social isolation through wellness programs and community engagement initiatives that prioritize mental health and psychosocial support.
Our mental health and wellness programs have created meaningful connections within communities, reducing loneliness and improving the overall quality of life for older persons while challenging negative stereotypes about aging.

Food Security & Nutrition

We actively work to ensure older persons have access to proper nutrition and food security through distribution programs, education, and training in sustainable food production methods.
Through initiatives like the Living Water Initiative in Naivasha, we have trained 1,000 older persons in sustainable agriculture, improving their food security, income generation, and overall health outcomes while building their resilience and self-sufficiency.