Who can come to Tumaini Counselling Centres as a client?

The counselling, psychiatric and pastoral care services are provided for missionaries from approximately 160 different mission organizations from around the world serving throughout Africa but primarily East and Central Africa.  Organizations that provide counselors for the center have first priority but other ministries are welcome to access the services when our Centres have the capacity to respond.

What does it cost to come to Tumaini?

All of the clinical and pastoral staff at Tumaini are volunteers and thus do not receive personal income through services provided at Tumaini.  However, we do charge fees to cover the costs of running the centres.  We have reduced fees for missionaries working with the organizations that help staff our centres.  The counsellor will discuss the payment with the client at the beginning of the assessment process. Organizations & churches have different processes for individuals to pay.  Examples are through health insurance, special funds that can be access when requested from one’s sending or receiving region, work funds that the client has raised as part of their support, special confidential appeals to a limited number of supporters or church mission committees, or even from one’s own savings.  In order to keep our fees low, we require all clients to pay at the time of service unless the organization has made alternative payment plans that our administrators have agreed to. You are welcome to check with our staff at tumaini.ac@aimint.org or officeadmin.kampala.ac@aimint.org if you have specific questions.

Will what I share with you be confidential?

All of the counselling services at Tumaini Counselling Centres are confidential. Information regarding the counselling is released only with the client’s written permission, with the following exceptions:

• Ethically and legally, if there is a reasonable possibility that the client might harm him/herself or others, the counsellor is responsible to inform others in order to protect the client or others from harm

  1. Information subpoenaed by court will be given as required by law

  2. In case of suspected abuse or neglect of minors, the counsellor is required to report this information to the appropriate authorities.

When children under 18 are in treatment, written permission is obtained from the parent(s), and the counsellor will discuss with the parents and the child the parameters of how and what will be shared with the parents.

We have a short video which explains this further.  Access this video at Tumaini Confidentiality Video.

The client should let the counsellor know if he/she has any questions or concerns in regard to confidentiality.

Can you offer languages other than English?

Yes.  The languages we can offer varies from time to time depending on the clinical staff we have available, but at present (Fall 2022) we have staff who can speak English, French, German, and Swedish for online sessions.  Swedish and English are available for in person appointments at our Nairobi office. In Kampala we can offer German and English.

Do you have a list of accommodation near the Tumaini centres?

We no longer maintain a current list of accommodations near our office. Some clients make use of vacation rental sites such as Airbnb. For the convenience of some of our clients we have a couple of lists of guest houses and retreat centres nearby.  These list haven’t been updated for several years.  Click the link below for a PDF file of guest houses and retreat centres:

• In the Karen area of Nairobi: List of Accommodation near Tumaini, Nairobi – updated Sep 2015

• In the Lubowa area of Kampala: List of Accommodation near Tumaini, Kampala – updated March 2016

Please note that we don’t endorse any of the sites mentioned.

If you are AIM members and coming to the area as a family, you could also inquire about ‘ABS Transitional Housing’, which offers a variety of simply-furnished houses for missionaries needing to stay in Nairobi for two weeks or longer.  Charges for Transitional Housing are per week and include the use of furnishings, utilities (water, electricity, cooking gas), security fees, and garbage collection, but guests are responsible for the housekeeping, laundry, and cooking.  To inquire, send an email to: transitionalhousing.abs@aimint.org .

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