The Maa Trust (TMT) coordinates sustainable community development projects in the Maasai Mara region (Narok county) centred around alternative livelihoods for women and youth, education, capacity building, clean water access and quality healthcare.
The importance of conservation and wildlife is stressed within every initiative, so that communities acknowledge that benefits are received because of the wildlife that they live alongside.
Narok is one of the counties with the highest rates of teenage pregnancies in Kenya; 25.9% of pregnancies are among teenagers aged 15-19 (Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022).
With support from CHASE Africa, The Maa Trust launched its Integrated Community Health project in 2019. Partnering with the Ministry of Health Narok, the project increases knowledge and attitudes towards healthcare and improves access to quality healthcare across the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
The project reaches communities in the region through several activities. Awareness-raising is conducted through community dialogues and men’s health forums, door-to-door visits by Community Health Workers and Youth Peer Educators run activities on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR).
Health Service Provision is conducted through outreach clinics, targeted Backpack Nurse outreaches and door-to-door health service provision.
In addition to enabling the outreach services to reach remote communities, CHASE Africa has supported The Maa Trust to conduct training for health staff on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Staff are now more confident and competent at providing information and support to adolescents and youth and the clinics have become safe spaces for young people to access services.
CHASE Africa also supported The Maa Trust to build a Youth Friendly Centre at Talek. This is a hub for education and training of adolescents and youth in the area. It is also a place where young people can receive youth-friendly health services.
In 2024, The Maa Trust is opening a Maternity Centre on the same site, for teenage mums and high-risk pregnancies. It is the first facility in the area with a theatre able to perform a caesarean section, a neonatal high-dependency unit for sick babies, and a maternity shelter in the lead up to and after delivery. Teenage mothers will be provided with psychological support, training and guidance. There will be a direct link between this centre and the Youth Friendly Centre at Talek.