Our Journey

WHO WE ARE

Safari Doctors is an award-winning, proudly women-led social enterprise. We provide innovative, community-driven healthcare solutions that promote well-being for marginalised communities through health service delivery to the last mile in Lamu County, Kenya. The indigenous communities we serve, live within the archipelago and on the mainland near the border with Somalia, where insecurity, neglect and remoteness prevent them from accessing vital health services.

WHAT WE DO

Our team conducts monthly mobile clinics by boat and road across up to 41 remote villages in 3 counties (Lamu, Garissa, and Tana River). Together with outpatient services offered at the Safari Doctors Medical Centre, we reach up to 2,000 patients every month.

Safari Doctors believes that Kenya's efforts to attain Universal Health Coverage by 2030 must include a mobile model of health service delivery and the engagement of young people. Our Youth Health Ambassadors programme trains young men and women to become Community Health Workers (CHWs) and agents of positive change in their communities.

As part of our One Health approach, the Safari Vets programme cares for hundreds of animals. During our outreach, we provide free veterinary services and community education on animal welfare and Zoonoses. Our private Safari Vets clinic supports this work and runs TNR and vaccination campaigns.

Our team has also operated a civic education programme to build indigenous women’s capacity to engage in county health budget processes and to inform policy.

In 2020, Safari Doctors was the proud recipient of an SDGs in Action Solidarity Award for its work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read our Annual Reports: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

In 2017, the UN in Kenya awarded the Safari Doctors team the United Nations Person of the Year award, “for the outstanding efforts and commendable work providing medical care to marginalized communities in the far reaching areas of Lamu.”

Meet the team

ALBERT OBBUYI

DEPUTY DIRECTOR
“Global commitments are focused on the achievement of sustainable development goals. In a small way we make our own contributions to community health towards archiving these ambitious objectives.”
ANTONETA AKUOM

SAFARI VETS ANIMAL HEALTH OFFICER
“Ever since I was small, I have had a passion for animals.”
AUGUSTINE MUSULWA

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
“Hope is a good thing and I wanted to be part of a good thing.”
FAHMI SAID MAHIBU

BOAT CAPTAIN
“I like using football and sport as a way to engage vulnerable young people.”
HARRISON CHARO KALU

NURSE
“I enjoy helping the very marginalised communities.”
ISSA ABDULRAHMAN

COMMUNICATIONS & DEVELOPMENT
“I’m proud to work with a team that shares a vision and can apply individual successes to organisational goals.”
JANET KERU

MONITORING & EVALUATION MANAGER
“As Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes, Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” I'm happy to support the mission of Safari Doctors, as my contribution to service for humanity.”
KHADIJA HAFIDH

PHARMACIST
“Only when everyone you encounter along the way learns something from you will the road to success be genuinely extraordinary.”
MARIAM ABDALLA

PROGRAMS MANAGER
“I am motivated to help the neglected communities in my homeland.”
MWEMA JOHN

NURSE
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal. As a nurse, I'm always generous with kindness.”
Nuru Ismail

CLINICAL OFFICER
”One kind act can warm up three winter months. It's never too late or too early to be kind. Let's create autumn and spring in people's hearts.”
REHEMA CHARO

OFFICE ASSISTANT
“I enjoy when our team works together in harmony. I look forward to seeing more of that and growth.”
SHANGA NZOLE ANDERSON

OFFICE ASSISTANT
“Giving back to the community is my passion.”
SYLVIA WANJIKU

LABORATORY TECHNICIAN
“I joined Safari Doctors because I was looking for a challenging yet fulfilling role, offering the community friendly and accessible healthcare.”
VIOLET WANJERI

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE
“Accessible and affordable healthcare is a necessity and a source of joy for many in remote areas. Contributing to this motivates me.”

Our Founder

Umra Omar (credit Tojo Andrianarivo).jpg — **Umra Omar**, Founder & Director

*“Marinating in comfort is not an option. Fear is not an option. With a leap of faith we can all be the change our world screams for.”*

Umra Omar is from Pate Island in the Lamu archipelago and was raised in Kenya. After completing graduate school and working in Washington, D.C., Umra decided cubicle life was not for her. She returned to Lamu to explore her purpose and learned about a life-saving medical aid project that had been abandoned because of security concerns. In 2015, she launched Safari Doctors.

The following year, Umra was selected as a CNN Hero for her work. In 2017, she won the United Nations in Kenya Person of The Year Award. Umra is an Africa Visionary Fellow, Aurora Forum Goodwill Ambassador and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She featured among the United Nations #RealLifeHeroes for World Humanitarian Day 2020 and was among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans of 2020.

In 2021, Umra also became an Amujae Leader- the flagship programme of The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, which aims to shift the landscape for women in public leadership in Africa, to one that truly values women leaders.

Watch: CNN African Voices Changemakers

“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a room with a mosquito.”

Our favourite African proverb

The Board

Ms. Amina Abubakar

Owner, RX Clinic & Pharmacy
Amina Abubakar is a pharmacist and entrepreneur who champions patient care and personalized medicine. She owns a pharmacy, founded the Avant Institute to train pharmacists, and advocates for expanding pharmacists’ roles in pharmacogenomics.
Mr. Dana Hovig

Consultant, Ex-Director at Gates Foundation and Hewlett Foundation; Ex-CEO of MSI Reproductive Choices
Dana Hovig is a global health and development leader with extensive experience in gender equity, governance, and reproductive health. He previously held leadership positions at the Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and MSI Reproductive Choices, and now serves as a consultant and board member for various organizations.
Mr. Karim Anjarwalla

Managing Partner, Anjarwalla & Khanna
Karim Anjarwalla is a leading Kenyan lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and capital markets. He has advised on major regional and international transactions, including bank consolidations and cross-border deals. He leads Anjarwalla & Khanna and established the Africa-wide ALN law firm alliance.
Eng. Philip Holi

Technical Director at Davis & Shirtliff
Philip Holi is a technology expert with over 25 years of experience in water and energy solutions in East Africa. He is the Technical Director at Davis & Shirtliff, where he leverages technology and innovation to address critical challenges in underserved areas. His passion for sustainable, community-driven solutions aligns with Safari Doctors' vision of accessible healthcare.
Ms. Sumayya Hassan

Founder & CEO of GFunze Limited
Sumayya Hassan is a lawyer and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the oil and gas industry. She founded Azure Energy and GFunze, an e-learning platform. As former CEO of Kenya’s National Oil Corporation, she champions youth, women, and deaf empowerment. She is an Eisenhower Fellow and award-winning leader.