Vijana wa Huduma: Leadership From Lived Experience
A peer-led model that turns lived experience into a career of care and advocacy
The Model
Vijana wa Huduma ("Youth of Service") is TWC's flagship peer leadership initiative. The programme identifies individuals with lived experience of substance use, sex work, or HIV — people who already have the trust of their peers — and trains them to become paid community health workers, peer educators, and advocates.
The pipeline moves from outreach contact, through structured training in counselling, harm reduction, HIV basics, and human rights, into supervised practice and eventually independent facilitation. Peers are not token representatives — they are integrated into the clinical and outreach teams as professionals.
Outcomes
Peer Accompaniment — Peers escort new beneficiaries to their first clinic visit, stay with them during intake, and follow up after. First-appointment attendance rose significantly under the model.
Group Facilitation — Peer-led support groups meet weekly, covering adherence, mental health, stigma coping, and income generation. Groups create social capital that keeps people in care.
Advocacy — Trained peer advocates speak at county health forums, engage with policymakers, and represent the community in national conversations on drug policy and health rights.