Behind a gate in Mombasa's Jomvu Constituency stands the only rehabilitation facility in Kenya that rescues people with mental illness directly from the streets.

Mama Amina Abdalla's centre isn't your everyday government hospital. Neither is it a drop-in clinic. Here, people abandoned by their families as being "sick" and "cursed" find a sanctuary that houses, treats and teaches them skills to rebuild their lives.

Every morning Amina and her team drive through Mombasa in an ambulance bearing her organisation's emblem.

The calls seldom stop. Someone reports a man spotted wandering aimlessly in Tudor. Another seeks help for a woman talking to herself in Bamburi. A third caller talks about a youth lying still under a bridge in Changamwe.

The ambulance rarely travels more than a kilometre before it is full. All in a day's work for Team Amina.

"If you came with me now in the ambulance, I could pick ten severely ill people in less than a kilometre," says the former transport company owner.

The anguish of people with mental illness left to fend for themselves on the streets isn't restricted to Mombasa. Amina's organisation routinely receives requests from Kilifi, Likoni, Kwale and neighbouring constituencies.

Pioneering mission

With no government-run rescue programme, the centre has become the region's only emergency response for people battling psychiatric conditions.

Most are in heartbreaking condition at the time of rescue – burns from sleeping too close to open fires, hair infested with lice, dehydrated, injured, sexually abused, malnourished, or mentally lost beyond recognition.

Some among these people would have wandered for months, even years, after their families rejected them.

In Amina's book, the first step towards rehabilitation is always restoring their dignity. The patients are shaved, bathed, given clean clothing, fed and medically assessed. They undergo screenings for HIV, diabetes, infections and untreated wounds before being seen by the centre's in-house psychiatrist, who prescribes medication tailored to their needs.

Some require days of stabilisation before they can speak clearly. Others recover physically before psychiatric treatment can begin.

"No one is ever turned away," Amina, founder of the Mombasa Women Empowerment Network, tells TRT Afrika.

A visit to the centre reveals how this kind-hearted woman whose mission started with a solo rescue now means the world to scores of others dependent on her for a fresh shot at life.

All these courses culminate in certification meant to enable the inmates to secure employment or start small businesses.

In the workshops within the centre, items crafted by the inmates line the shelves, including furniture, clothing and repaired electronics items.

Poverty fuels crisis

The circumstances that bring most of the inmates to Amina's centre are rooted in more than illness. She points out that poverty is a silent driver behind countless cases.

In Kenya, where unemployment is widespread and housing is scarce, many young people slide into depression long before they reach the streets.

Families struggling to meet daily needs cannot afford psychiatric medication or counselling. Cheap and addictive drugs like mogoka, which cost as little as 30-50 shillings (US $0.2-0.3), become a temporary escape that worsens underlying mental conditions.

"More than 80% of the people I rescue come from poor backgrounds," says Amina. "My goal is to help each person move from the streets to self-reliance."

Running the sanctuary, however, requires a financial miracle each month. The centre operates without corporate donors, NGO partnerships or government funding.

"Food alone costs 1.1 million shillings ($8,530) monthly. Well-wishers contribute around 400,000 shillings ($3,100). Medication requires another 650,000 shillings ($5,040). Salaries are paid entirely out of the centre's pocket," says Amina.

Construction at the centre has been progressing in phases for eight years, based on availability of funds. Only about 20% of families contribute small monthly amounts.

Without advanced diagnostic machines and a professional army of specialists, Amina's centre delivers results that rival, and often surpass, institutional care elsewhere. But there's still a lot more to do.

"There are scores of people still out on the streets, waiting for help. Every rescue underscores the gaps in Kenya's mental healthcare system, especially in a country with fewer than ten psychiatrists in one of its largest cities. Our centre alone cannot carry the b

Beyond the standard 15-minute security clearance at the gate, the centre is literally a breath of fresh air with its sylvan setting and spartan but meticulously maintained compound.

Inside, a group of aspiring barbers are busy practicing giving haircuts as part of their vocational training. Women, dressed neatly in blue and pink uniforms, quietly go about their tasks around the facility. Some are sitting in shaded areas, speaking in hushed tones, smiling at visitors or playing games.

When a lorry laden with supplies drives in, inmates and volunteers form a neat line, taking turns offloading bagfuls of food items.

Road to recovery

Many of these people had once been found naked on the streets, disoriented and helpless.

The centre currently houses 160 patients in different stages of recovery. Around 40 of them have nowhere else to go. Rejected by family or with no relatives found, they live permanently within the safety of the institution that has become their adopted home.

Over the years, more than 2,000 people have passed through the gates – rescued, treated, rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

"Our patients are from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, and even one from the UK. Severe mental illness often leads individuals to wander across borders unknowingly, walking long distances until exhaustion ends their journey. For those brought here, this centre becomes their first port of safety," Amina tells TRT Afrika.

Once they stabilise, the patients embark on a structured rehabilitation programme that teaches them basic life skills such as hygiene, communication and emotional regulation before transitioning into vocational training.

The centre offers courses in tailoring, welding, electrical installation, phone repair, metalwork, hairdressing and computer skills.urden forever," Amina tells TRT Afrika.