Our Recommendation
We highly recommend supporting Shamiri because they consistently measure appropriate outcomes and impact to understand if their work is successful. This page on their website describes the results that they are seeing.
Shamiri Institute meets the requirements for 4 of our 4 key criteria:
✔ Understand the Social Issue
✔ Ultimate Outcome Goals (Life Changes)
✔ Evidence of Success
✔ Counterfactual Impact
Their Vision
Mental health issues prevent young people from flourishing. We enable thriving youths by making mental healthcare accessible in underserved regions of the world, starting with Kenya and Africa.
The Problem
Globally, 250 million young people (aged 10–19) struggle with a mental health problem, and nearly 45 % of the youth global burden of disease stems from these issues. In Kenya, almost half of high‑school students report elevated symptoms of anxiety or depression, yet over 80 % face a treatment gap due to stigma, high costs, and a shortage of trained professionals. When left unaddressed, these challenges diminish academic performance, social support, and economic opportunity, limiting young people’s potential.
The Solution
Shamiri Institute trains 18‑ to 25‑year‑olds—called Shamiri fellows—to deliver brief, evidence‑based, group therapy in schools and communities. These lay providers lead sessions on growth mindset, gratitude, and value affirmation in groups of 6–15 peers, meeting weekly for four weeks with homework in between.
Their tiered care model ensures:
- Near-peer group delivery by Shamiri fellows
- Clinical supervision from psychology-trained supervisors
- Referral to expert psychologists or psychiatrists when needed
By embedding mental health support in schools via trusted local youth, Shamiri eliminates stigma, lowers cost, and maximizes cultural fit—making mental healthcare accessible and acceptable.
A Sample of Their Outputs
- Since beginning operations in 2021, they have now served over 185,000 youth, ramping up their capacity to 100,000 per year in 2024. Our goal is to serve 1 million youth per year by 2027.
- 38,000 group therapy sessions completed
- 3,000 providers trained and employed
- They work with over 300 high schools in underserved communities across Africa to deliver our mental health solutions
A Sample of Their Outcomes and Impact
Shamiri’s outcomes are rigorously tracked through gold‑standard randomized trials and real‑world implementation:
- In large RCTs, reductions in depression (d ≈ 0.35) and anxiety (d ≈ 0.37) were sustained up to seven months post‑intervention, with academic and social gains too.
- Single‑session digital pilot reduced depressive symptoms with effect size d = 0.50—surpassing many traditional psychotherapies.
- Now serving over 135,000 youth total, with 100,000 served annually through Shamiri Hubs and partners—and a goal to reach 1 million youth per year by 2027.
Their cost‑effectiveness is exceptional: delivering meaningful improvement for under US $7 per youth (projected to drop to $5 by 2026) with an average cost of $48.25 per clinically significant outcome.
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