Where we work, “organic” is about much more than health-food. We recognize each human organism as dynamic nexus of biological, social, and ecological relationships. In order to treat disease, we believe health interventions must address the equilibrium of an individual’s relationships, i.e. the microbial, familial, political, and ecological webs of energy exchange that give meaning to being well versus being sick. Organic describes a formation that happens gradually with a low degree of predictability.  It is something that ebbs and flows until it finds a good fit. It is typical to the formation process of living systems such as organisms, communities, or ecosystems. OHR seeks to function organically, allowing freedom to create opportunities that lead to innovative solutions to complicated problems.

THE BIRTH OF THE ORGANIC HEALTH RESPONSE (OHR):

When he was thirteen years old, Richard Magerenge’s mother died on Mfangano of a mysterious wasting illness. Some said she was bewitched, others said she was afflicted with a condition known for generations among the Suba as chira.

When Richard’s father died two years later, whispers in the village included new Swahili terms: UKIMWI (“AIDS”) or virusi (“the virus”). Richard managed to find his way through high school, and later jumped at the chance to complete a training workshop in Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT). With his new VCT certificate, Richard was able to “sneak” onto the computers of an international development organization on the mainland. He started “surfing the net.”

Navigating the web, Richard was attracted to a series of websites regarding the Organic Agriculture movement in the US. He was excited to realize that the cultivation techniques these websites described were not radically different from the techniques his family had been using for generations, long before the introduction of industrial chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Richard began talking to his uncle, a farmer named Joel Oguta, and convinced him to fully convert their farm.  On Mfangano, Joel’s grandfather had been respected as the first farmer to plant mango trees; Joel agreed with Richard to try and plant a new kind of seed. After three hard years of work, they registered their organic farm at Kitawi beach on the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms website (www.wwoof.org).

In 2006, Adam Sewall and Lauren Friedman, two students at Evergreen College in Washington, came across Richard’s online post. They were impressed by Richard and Joel’s passion, and decided that Mfangano Island was the right place to realize a long-held vision for a “sustainable life.” They emptied their bank accounts, dropped out of school, filled two backpacks, and joined Richard and Joel on Mfangano Island to start an experimental farm. 

Six months later, while working in Kenya, an Oxford medical anthropology student named Chas Salmen crossed paths with Adam and Lauren at a bus stop in Homa Bay. After visiting their farm on Mfangano, Chas decided to make the Suba the focus of his ethnographic fieldwork on the roots of HIV/AIDS in Western Kenya. (See the bottom of this page to read the first chapter of Chas' ethnography, "Towards an Anthropology of Organic Health: the Relational Fields of HIV/AIDS among the Suba of Lake Victoria"). 

Like Lauren and Adam, Chas was hooked on Mfangano. He returned with an Oxford colleague named Malini Daniel, president of a student-run non-profit called STRIDE, to conduct a community health needs assessment. This time, Richard and Joel approached them with an interesting idea. Joel wanted to donate a piece of his land to build a solar-powered Internet library to coordinate HIV testing services and teach about sustainable agriculture. 

The Organic Health Response was born…

OUR MISSION:

The Organic Health Response seeks to activate social solidarity, information technology, and environmental sustainability on Mfangano Island in Western Kenya to turn the tide against the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS across Lake Victoria.

OHR represents a mission cultivated by a group of Kenyan organic farmers, health workers, and teachers and a team of international medical and graduate students, designers, and activists. Through local and global partnerships, we work together to equip our rural villages with resources, training, and connections to respond “organically”—as unified communities—to the overwhelming socio-economic, epidemiological, and ecological challenges we face.

ETHOS:

OHR embraces a philosophy that champions social justice and environmentalism not merely as political ideals but as the key components of a comprehensive strategy to improve and sustain human health. 

OHR is rounded in the recognition that the health of human beings is fundamentally connected to the strength of their communities and the sustainability of their environments. We seek to augment health services by taking into consideration local understandings of disease, and integrating the power of biomedical science with the insight of indigenous knowledge.

Most importantly, OHR seeks to move beyond the rhetoric of “International Development” to put power into the hands of rural communities and at-risk youth.  Rather than requiring rural communities to develop according to agendas set by international organizations, OHR strives to equip Kenyans on Lake Victoria with cutting-edge resources to grow a locally-directed future.

OHR is based on a unique collaborative system. Our programs are designed and implemented by Mfangano residents working in small teams with student volunteers from around the world, and supported by IT industries, international “Green” movements, and global health partners. As an inspired cooperative of grass-roots activists, we are working together to plant seeds of solidarity and cultivate local visions of wellbeing.

TEAMS AND TITLES

Chas Salmen 
Founder and Director, Organic Health Response

Richard Magerenge
Executive Director, Ekialo Kiona Center

Mfangano Island Micro-Clinic Division

Nancy Bui, MPH
OHR-GMCP Initiative for HIV/AIDS, Research and Program Design
GMCP, Director of Research Administration

Hal Campbell, Ed.D., MPH
OHR-GMCP Initiative for HIV/AIDS, Research and Curriculum Design 
GMCP, Vice President of Health Promotion, Education, and Innovation

Ekialo Kiona Youth Radio Station

Tyler Herbert, Youth Factor Investment Team Leader

OHR Media, Administration, and Design 

Georg Apitz
Web Development & Web Technology Realization

Rajaie Batniji, MD MA
Senior Research Officer

Zak Brewer
Strategic Partnership Coordinator

Rose Carr
Public Relations & Website Coordinator

Robert Dubois
Media and Design

Brandon Frickey
Strategic Partnership Coordinator

Lauren R. Friedman
Fundraising and Development

Kelsi Hines
Awareness and Volunteer Coordinator

Gus A. Lundin
OHR Board of Directors, Treasurer

Hannah Graff, OHR Grants Coordinator

Kris Coontz, Epidemiology and Health Promotion Coordinator

OHR Sustainable Design and Technology

Marco Salmen, MD candidate
Sustainable Design and Technology Director

Adam Sewall
Ekialo Kiona Sustainabie Design Guild Director

Drew Shipley
EK Radio and Youth Development Coordinator 

Jake Taufer, JD Candidate
Sustainable Design and Technology Coordinator

Annika Terrana
Eco-Awareness Coordinator

Matthew Tierney
Sustainable Design and Technology Coordinator

OHR Agriculture and Nutrition

Jenna Hines
Chair, OHR USA Board of Directors
Director of Agriculture Research Implementation

Joel Oguta
Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator

Nadine Levin
Research and Nutrition Coordinator

Jason Nagata
Research and Nutrition Coordinator

Relevant Research Articles about HIV/AIDS on Lake Victoria: