Shops selling snacks like chapatti and mandazi, women selling vegetables from a stand, and children selling mangos from a tree outside their house outline the dirt roads in the village. Although the economy appears to be thriving by the numerous businesses, the average income of a family in the Village of Kano is less than […]Read more

Maisha’s mission is: to empower people to transform their communities. We believe in combating the cycle of poverty by providing people with the tools necessary to change their lives. We want to give people a “hand-up,” not a “hand-out.” Maisha utilizes six different areas of empowerment to help change the Village of Kano in all […]Read more

According to Unicef, after a child enters secondary (high) school, the percentage of students enrolled drops below 50 percent. The factors influencing this statistic often involve a lack of school fees, the need to work to provide for their family, teen pregnancy, and illness. Maisha is aiming to change this number in the Village of […]Read more

In 2005, Mama Grace (Beatrice, the Maisha Founder’s mother) began feeding hungry children in the Village of Kano. Word spread around the village and Mama Grace was soon feeding over 60 children. By 2007, the number jumped to over 100 children. Mama Grace and widows from the community had began cooking for the children on […]Read more

In the United States, one Sunday each year is dedicated to celebrating mothers. This single day will never be enough to thank mothers for the love they show, the care they provide, the advice they share and the sacrifices they make. Although Mother’s Day is not an international holiday, Maisha would like to thank mothers […]Read more

Most of the time, our blogs start with a number. It could be the number of students we have at Maisha Academy, the number of community members involved in Maisha programs, or the number of people Maisha feeds every day. Although these numbers matter and are important to share, the reality is, Maisha would not […]Read more

Kenya is located in east Africa just below the “horn.” It’s bordered by the Indian Ocean on the South East, Tanzania on the South, Uganda on the West, Sudan on the North West, Ethiopia on the North and Somalia on the North East. Maisha is in the south-west corner of Kenya in the village of […]Read more

The goal of Maisha’s Economic Empowerment Project is to provide the resources necessary for Maisha Orphans and Widows (Kenya’s on-ground operations) to work towards sustainability, giving back to their own projects. Through strategic investments in social enterprises, they’ll be able to diversify their income sources and support the work of Maisha locally while creating employment opportunities. The […]Read more

We had the incredible privilege to have Chief Jenipher with us for an afternoon. We spent time with her and were able to hear some of the most delicate words spoken about Maisha from her mouth. This woman is tough and has seen more dysfunction, death, and despair in her life thus far than most […]Read more