The Story of MAMA HOPE

Founder Nyla Rodgers finds hope after her mother’s death — when she finds the community in Kenya that her mother called family.

In 2006, Founding Director Nyla Rodgers flew to Kenya just two weeks after losing her mother, Stephanie, to cancer. Arriving in Kenya, Nyla was astonished when she was greeted by hundreds of villagers her mother had been helping by funding small local projects and enterprises. Nyla also met the young Kenyan orphan Bernard, whom her mother had supported for many years, and whom she had come to know through letters and photographs.

Inspired by her mother’s impact, Nyla began partnering with local organizations to identify specific resource needs in the communities, and she found investors to help create sustainable prosperity, building everything from schools to women’s microfinance programs. In her mother’s light, Nyla formally organized MAMA HOPE in 2008.

After more than a decade of hard work and bringing this vision to life, in 2021, Nyla transitioned to the Board and MAMA HOPE’s work is now represented by Maïli Gasakure and Denis Muwanguzi, two grass-roots leaders that fully embody the community-led model the organization champions.

All MAMA HOPE community projects are aimed at 100% sustainability combine basic human rights in areas like Gender Equity, Water & Sanitation, Healthcare, Food Security, Green Energy, Housing, Education, Youth Engagement, Local Jobs, and Microfinance with social business, to create self reliant communities.