A Heroes Heritage
Wanjiku's Bio from Wandia's Perspective
A head, a heart and a helping hand… Growing up, this was all my mother urged me to be. This was her legacy to me, as it had been her mother’s to her.
My mother is the unflinching founder of Maji Mazuri Center and has been working for over 20 years transforming the lives of hundreds in the Mathare Valley slum and beyond. Under her courageous leadership and against all odds, the center has morphed into the epiphany of hope in a desolate place. With dedicated volunteers from around the world and a focus on empowerment, the center is a transfiguring force.
Mathare is a desolate place. People live in abject poverty with no functional utilities; no clean water, no sewage system or electricity. They live in shacks made of mud, bits and cardboard and rusty corrugated iron. Crime is rampant and the streets are permeated with drugs, prostitution and a lethal brew of illegal alcohol called Chang'aa.
Over 90% of the households are headed by single women, many of whom have been in abusive relationships and now engage in these illicit activities to survive.
My mother set up the center to empower the women through alternative economic and social activities. Today she is reaching out to many women through out Africa, traveling to areas that have been ravished by war and conflict, and assisting them recover with the same principles Maji Mazuri was set up on - a fundamental belief that all people are powerful, beautiful, intelligent and capable of coming up with their own solutions.
I am always inspired by my mothers courage, tenacity and determined spirit. Paradoxically, while she remains the same, she is continuously changing, open to learning and thinking outside the box. Her perpetual optimism is a force multiplier and she has a huge heart. There are many times her actions have been self-less but a particular incidence stands out in my mind. As a teenager I remember a lady coming over to our house late at night. My mother and I had just returned from a grueling trip to the country and we had both been eager to go to bed. At the sight of the lady I cringed. “ Oh no, not now!” I thought. But despite her exhaustion, my mother took the lady inside and spent hours discussing the latter’s dilemma. Even while I complained loudly the next day about the lady’s inconsiderate visit, my mother’s attitude never turned sour. She turned to me and said something along the lines of, “Remember, unto him much is given, much is expected.”
While we had never been wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, we always had enough to eat, a roof over our head and the tuition to my prestigious private school was always paid on time. I had received a good education, and by default I was privy to the privileges that accrued. Still, I often think to my self I can never make the sacrifices she did, to leave the comfort of the developed world for the battlefield of an ailing nation.
My mother’s dream has always been to make a genuine difference in her homeland. With only passion for a plan she left her reputable position as a lecturer at the university and set off to found Maji Mazuri, a grassroots program which means good water. 25 years later this transformative center impacts over 400 people daily and boasts numerous successful program participants.
My mother’s pioneering spirit, passion, and sheer determination has made her unstoppable even where there seemed no hope. She sees opportunity where others see obstacles, and has the courage to act on her convictions. She followed her heart to make a genuine difference in real people's lives.
