Community first, always: Tom Osborn’s vision for a new model for Kenyan mental health

NAIROBI, Kenya, 2nd July 2025/ By the time he turned 18, Tom Osborn had already tapped into a powerful truth: Africa’s greatest potential lies in its people and communities. Drawing from local knowledge and lived experience, he launched a clean energy company that gained global attention and earned him a scholarship to Harvard. But instead of remaining abroad, he chose to return home – not out of duty, but because, as he puts it, “The answers are in the community. They always have been.” His journey is a testament to the innovation, resilience, and solutions that already exist across the continent.

Now, as co-founder of the Shamiri Institute, Osborn is leading one of Kenya’s most promising mental health interventions, one designed by young people, for young people and rooted firmly in African ways of thinking.

His story, featured in Episode 4 of the fifth season of the Dreaming in Color podcast, offers a powerful lens into a broader conversation about youth leadership, mental well-being, and the importance of community-driven development. The lessons emerging from Kenya are not just local, but carry valuable insights for a world rethinking how sustainable change happens and who gets to lead it.

Kenya is a young country. As of mid-2024, more than 75% of the population, roughly 40 million people, are under 35. The median age is just 19. It’s the kind of demographic dividend that economists get excited about. And across the country, young people are working to turn that promise into progress – on their terms, in their communities, and to drive their futures.

Across Kenya, a generation of young people is stepping into a beautiful moment, full of possibility, power, and purpose. They are more educated, digitally connected and politically conscious than previous generations. And they are drawing on their networks, creativity and lived experiences to navigate complex systems shaped by economic pressures, social expectations and limited access to mental health support. Despite systemic barriers such as a shortage of professionals and persistent stigma, they are building community-led solutions, championing mental well-being and redefining what it means to thrive on their own terms – and in doing so, are offering models for the world. 

Osborn’s return to Kenya was driven by a sense of purpose. As a clean energy entrepreneur with GreenChar, he quickly recognised that meaningful innovation must be rooted in local realities and powered by community insight. His mother’s health challenges sparked his early motivation, but it became clear that lasting change would require more than passion. It called for solutions grounded in lived experience, shaped with and by the communities they serve.

That’s when mental health entered the picture.

“People were hurting. But they didn’t have the words. And the frameworks we were using weren’t built for them,” he explained.

The Shamiri Institute, which Osborn co-founded, rejects traditional Western diagnostic labels in favour of what works: interventions focused on lived experience, functionality and social context. Delivered through schools and churches, Shamiri’s tools are low-cost (about $7 per person per year), easy to scale and show real results in academic performance, wellbeing and relationships. At the heart of the model is what Osborn calls the “Four Enoughs”:

• Good enough to show measurable impact
• Big enough to scale in promising regions like Nairobi and Kiambu
• Simple enough for local delivery
• Cheap enough to make long-term adoption realistic

It’s community-led care – grounded, accessible and created with the people it’s meant to serve. Across Kenya, young leaders are building what traditional systems have long struggled to provide. Whether driving grassroots climate action, expanding digital inclusion or reimagining education, they are not waiting for change – they are making it. What they need now is not just applause, but access, investment, and partnership. They need older generations who respect their leadership, value their insight, and are ready to follow their lead.

Tom Osborn’s story is one of talent shaped by humility, driven by ambition, and rooted in community wisdom. It is also a call to action for policymakers, funders, and everyday citizens to shift their perspective – to see young people not as a challenge to be managed, but as key partners in progress and a driving force for the change the world needs. Backing their vision and leadership is not a gamble – it is one of the most strategic choices that can be made.

To hear more about Tom’s journey and his bold vision for youth leadership and mental health in Africa, listen to Episode 4 of the Dreaming in Color podcast. If you’ve ever wondered what real, grassroots change sounds like, this is it.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Bridgespan

Media contact:
Anele Cebekulu
Tribeca Public Relations
Anelec@tribecapr.co.za

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