Welcome to Caritas Nairobi

Caritas Nairobi is the social and humanitarian development agency of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, committed to making the Church's love visible through practical action that restores dignity, strengthens resilience and creates opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized communities. Inspired by Gospel values and rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, we work alongside communities to address poverty, inequality, vulnerability and the challenges that continue to affect human development.

Our journey is part of a much larger Caritas legacy. The Caritas movement began in Germany in 1897, when Rev. Fr. Lorenz Werthmann responded to the social needs of his time by establishing an organization dedicated to serving the poor and marginalized. Over more than a century, this spirit of service has grown into a global movement of Catholic social action. In Nairobi, Caritas was formally registered as a Trust under the Archdiocese of Nairobi in 2006, giving institutional expression to the Church's commitment to integral human development and social transformation.

Today, Caritas Nairobi serves more than 4.6 million Catholics across 127 parishes, covering approximately 3,721 square kilometres across Nairobi and Kiambu counties. Our extensive parish network gives us a unique community-level presence, enabling us to understand local realities, identify emerging needs and work directly with communities to develop solutions that are locally owned and sustainable.

Our work is organized around four complementary programme areas: Relief and Charitable Centres, Food Security and Livelihoods, Gender and Youth Empowerment, and Socio-Economic Empowerment Programme (SEEP), which collectively address immediate humanitarian needs while investing in the long-term resilience and self-reliance of communities.

"Lasting development happens when communities are not simply recipients of assistance, but active partners and owners of their own transformation."

Across all four programmes, our approach is grounded in human dignity, solidarity, stewardship and fairness. We prioritize empowerment, inclusion, partnership and capacity strengthening because we believe that lasting development happens when communities are not simply recipients of assistance, but active partners and owners of their own transformation.

As we look to the future, Caritas Nairobi recognizes that the scale and complexity of the challenges facing our communities cannot be addressed by one institution alone. We therefore invite development partners, government agencies, private-sector actors, civil society organizations, faith-based institutions, foundations, donors and well-wishers to join us in expanding opportunities for communities across Nairobi and Kiambu Counties.

Partnership with Caritas Nairobi offers an opportunity to combine resources, expertise and networks with an established community presence and a strong commitment to accountability and sustainable development. Together, we can strengthen livelihoods, protect vulnerable persons, advance social inclusion, respond effectively to emergencies and create resilient communities capable of shaping their own future.

Our aspiration is clear: a just, self-reliant and value-based society. This is more than our vision; it is the destination that guides our programmes, partnerships and service to communities.

"A just, self-reliant and value-based society — this is more than our vision; it is the destination that guides our programmes, partnerships and service to communities."

I invite you to walk this journey with us. Together, through solidarity, empowerment and responsible partnership, we can make a lasting difference and build a future where poverty is reduced, dignity is restored and hope flourishes.

Very Rev. Peter Kiarie

Executive Director, Caritas Nairobi