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Florence KeyaMember
“After running a girls program in my community for 6 years, I realized that there was a great need for a safe space for the girls to articulate the issues in our society. Maisha safe house idea started in my small house, the idea kept on growing in me as a girl child and then as a young womens’ rights defender. Having been brought up in Majengo slum, i felt it ideal to use my house as a temporary shelter and a safe space for fellow vulnerable girls. |
I early on understood that when girls come to the safe house, they’re usually at their wit’s end— frustrated and don’t know where or who to turn to. All they needed at the time was an assuring voice of hope and a shoulder to lean and cry on. I was always willing to share the little love, hope and resources with my sisters in their time of need”
After meeting Florence Keya in Kenya, this is what Joshua Peters SJ had to say about her:
” The first time I met Flo I knew I was meeting an extraordinary woman. I was with Frank and Emma as we were visiting a boarding school to support a young lady who was traumatized and brought to Maisha for safety and care. Flo is the embodiment of life- Maisha in Kiswahili.
Flo provides a new life of safety, care, and love for young women with nowhere positive to turn. I see new life and the joy it brings every single time I visit Maisha Safehouse.
On one memorable visit, the girls were coming home from boarding schools all over Kenya for holidays and I witnessed their reunion at Maisha. There was a joy in that room that I have rarely beheld on this earth. They were beyond exhilarated to see one another and hug each other in their new safe home of love and life… MAISHA!
I think my visit that day was one of the most important things I experienced in Kenya and it continues to strengthen my heart. Life is a gift that Flo provides in a community that turns sadness and trauma into joy. I am a witness to love, joy, and new life”
After meeting Florence Keya in Kenya, this is what Joshua Peters SJ had to say about her:
” The first time I met Flo I knew I was meeting an extraordinary woman. I was with Frank and Emma as we were visiting a boarding school to support a young lady who was traumatized and brought to Maisha for safety and care. Flo is the embodiment of life- Maisha in Kiswahili.
Flo provides a new life of safety, care, and love for young women with nowhere positive to turn. I see new life and the joy it brings every single time I visit Maisha Safehouse.
On one memorable visit, the girls were coming home from boarding schools all over Kenya for holidays and I witnessed their reunion at Maisha. There was a joy in that room that I have rarely beheld on this earth. They were beyond exhilarated to see one another and hug each other in their new safe home of love and life… MAISHA!
I think my visit that day was one of the most important things I experienced in Kenya and it continues to strengthen my heart. Life is a gift that Flo provides in a community that turns sadness and trauma into joy. I am a witness to love, joy, and new life”