Chas Salmen
Founder and Director, Organic Health Response

On a sunny afternoon in 2007, Zak Brewer and I met Adam and Lauren at a bus stop in Homa Bay. Our split-second decision to jump on their bus and visit their farm on Mfangano for a night has changed my whole life. They introduced me to Richard Magerenge, Joel Oguta, and the people of Mfangano; I've been hooked ever since.

As a medical anthropologist and aspiring physician, I have worked extensively in Western Kenya. I trained as a community mobilizer with AMPATH (Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS) in Eldoret, conducted 2 years of fieldwork as an ethnographer through a Rhodes Scholarship to the Oxford Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, and am currently a medical student at UCSF.

As Director of OHR, I am continually transpired by the human ecosystems of Mfangano Isalnd. I remain inspired to live, learn and serve with my friends among the indigenous people of Lake Victoria. I see myself as a full-time advocate of the organic health philosophy. To achieve organic health for our bodies and societies, we must tackle disease as a complex function of micro-organisms, social structures, and ecosystems that are now straining under the pressure of human activity. I seek to assist OHR in becoming a pragmatic example for rural populations worldwide of the power of organic thinking, local-global friendships, and sustained commitment.

Favorite Quote: "Be safe, be honest, and drink plenty of water." - my mom.