From Poverty to Purpose
Founder & Executive Director, Rehema Foundation
Meet Maureen
A Journey of Transformation and Hope
Maureen's story is one of redemption, resilience, and radical compassion. Born and raised in Kariobangi, one of Nairobi's largest informal settlements, she witnessed firsthand the devastating cycle of poverty, teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and hopelessness that gripped her community.
Growing up in extreme poverty, Maureen's family often went days without food. The challenges she faced as a child were overwhelming—so much so that she once wished for an end to the suffering. But in 1992, everything changed when she was enrolled in Compassion International Kenya's child sponsorship program.
The Power of Holistic Development
Through Compassion International, Maureen discovered more than just relief from hunger—she found hope, purpose, and Jesus Christ. The program provided holistic development: spiritual mentorship, education support, nutritious meals, and life skills training. Most importantly, she experienced the transforming power of Christ's love.
Maureen became the first person in her family to attend university, breaking the generational cycle of poverty. She earned her degree with determination, driven by a promise to create a better future for her family and community.
A Divine Calling: Ministry to Pregnant Girls in Crisis
During a life-changing advocacy trip to the United States with Compassion International, God revealed Maureen's calling: to rescue and restore teenage girls facing crisis pregnancies. Having grown up seeing abandoned fetuses in dumpsites and witnessing countless young girls resort to dangerous backstreet abortions, Maureen knew this was her mission.
In obedience to God's call, she co-founded Rehema Foundation—a Christ-centered nonprofit organization dedicated to offering pregnant teenage girls a life-affirming alternative to abortion and suicide.
Rehema Foundation: Rescuing Girls, Empowering Women, Redeeming Generations
Under Maureen's leadership, Rehema Foundation has become a beacon of hope for Kenya's most vulnerable girls and women. The organization serves:
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Crisis Pregnancy Program: Providing safe shelter, medical care, counseling, education, and spiritual discipleship to pregnant teenage girls who have been abandoned due to rape, defilement, incest, or survival prostitution.
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Community Outreach Program: Empowering women from Kariobangi slum through three women's groups—Have Hope Women, Miujiza, and Street Hope Women—with skills training, economic empowerment, and transformation through Christ.
Maureen's philosophy is simple yet profound: "We love the girls until they love Jesus."
Family and Legacy
Maureen is married to Oliver, also a former Compassion International beneficiary, and together they are blessed with 2 biological sons, 90 adopted daughters, and 90 grandchildren—a beautiful testament to the lives transformed through Rehema Foundation.
She lives by the powerful belief that "poverty does not determine my future, rather it shapes it." This conviction drives her daily work to break cycles of poverty, save lives, and share the Gospel with Kenya's forgotten girls and women.
