2025

Mercy Mutana is a Pan-Africa Youth Champion at The ONE Campaign, where she actively champions justice, equality, and youth empowerment. She is a youth co-lead at RADA Movement, a youth-led initiative dedicated to co-creating solutions on critical issues affecting young people, including mental health, sexual reproductive health, mentorship, drug and substance abuse, and safety.

Mercy is passionate about women and youth development, leadership, and representation, which she actively promotes through advocacy, delegation, and civic engagement. Under her leadership, the RADA Movement has grown from a student-led mobile application into a nationally recognized program with ongoing regional outreach, supported by institutional and development partners.

She has served as:

✅ Country Representative – Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network

✅ Youth Director – Sub-Sahara Africa International Model United Nations

✅ Leader & Contributor – Various regional and local programs focused on SDGs 1-5, 8, and 16

Leadership & Fellowship

Mercy is an alumna of:

🌍 Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI) RLC East Africa

🤝 Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Kenya President’s Fellowship

🚀 Emerging Leaders Foundation ABLI Fellowship

Her passion for leadership development and intergenerational mentorship is reflected in her active membership in:

🔹 International Republican Institute (IRI) – Women & Generation Democracy Networks

🔹 Kenya’s Young Women Caucus – Africa Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Kenya

Mercy continues to amplify youth voices, drive policy engagement, and foster inclusive leadership, ensuring young people, especially women, have a seat at decision-making tables.

At just 21 years old, Marion Jepkemboi Yego is a Veterinary Medicine student and a passionate mental health advocate dedicated to destigmatizing mental health and making support more accessible. She is the founder of Art for Wellbeing Mental Health Foundation, a non-profit organization that utilizes art therapy to promote emotional well-being among young people.

The foundation primarily focuses on university students aged 18-25, offering workshops, awareness campaigns, and educational programs aimed at fostering mental resilience. In 2024 alone, her initiatives—such as themed art therapy contests, exhibitions, and mental health webinars—have impacted over 100 individuals.

Impact & Vision

🎨 Art Therapy for Mental Wellness – Using creative expression to support emotional health
📢 Awareness & Education – Conducting campaigns to break the stigma around mental health
🤝 Community Engagement – Creating safe spaces for young people to seek support

With a vision to make art therapy resources widely accessible, Marion continues to break barriers in mental health advocacy, ensuring that more young people find creative healing and awareness opportunities.

Peris Wangare is a social change leader who has turned pain into purpose. As the founder of Arthur for Others, a community-based organization named after her late son, Arthur, she channels her personal journey of love, loss, and resilience into a mission to uplift others. Arthur, who had cerebral palsy, passed away at just two years old, leaving a profound impact on Peris’s life. Fueled by grief and determination, she has dedicated herself to championing the rights of children with developmental disorders, their caregivers, and the neurodiverse community.

Through innovative and impact-driven solutions, Arthur for Others provides patient-centered care by tailoring support to the unique needs of each child and family. It adopts a whole-person model that integrates healthcare, psychosocial support, and sustainability to ensure long-term transformation. At the heart of this work is the power of stories—the raw, honest experiences of parents and caregivers navigating the often unseen challenges of raising neurodiverse children. Through empowerment and storytelling training, they are equipped to share their lived experiences, using their voices to break stigma, influence policy, and drive societal transformation.

A Fellow of the NextGen Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025, powered by ForumCiv and Strathmore Business School, Peris is honing her skills in governance, policy-making, and advocacy to further her cause. She has also completed training in equality, diversity, and inclusion, as well as advocacy for digital health justice through Afya na Haki Institute (Ahaki), equipping her with the tools to drive meaningful change. Additionally, she has trained with NACADA (National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse) and is now collaborating on prevention efforts, integrating substance abuse awareness and mental health advocacy into her community work.

Peris’s work has not gone unnoticed. She is a recipient of the Afri-Glow Women’s Choice Award, recognized for her unwavering commitment to advocacy and empowerment. Yet, her greatest reward comes from the impact she sees—the moments of connection, the hope restored in weary caregivers, and the growing chorus of voices fighting for a more compassionate world.

Through Arthur for Others, Peris transforms pain into progress, love into action, and stories into change. She reminds us that even in the face of loss, we have the power to create something beautiful—something that uplifts, heals, and inspires.

Dr. Nafisa Agil Hussein is a passionate medical doctor, researcher, and social innovator dedicated to making healthcare more inclusive. She co-founded DEAFHEALTH, a pioneering initiative that addresses the communication gap between healthcare workers and the deaf community. Through DEAFHEALTH, she is working to bridge the gap in access to quality healthcare by training medical professionals in sign language and developing innovative solutions that enhance communication in clinical settings.

DEAFHEALTH focuses on advocacy, training, and technology-driven solutions to improve healthcare experiences for deaf patients. The initiative has trained over 300 healthcare workers in basic and medical sign language, ensuring that deaf individuals can receive medical attention without barriers. Additionally, DEAFHEALTH conducts medical camps in deaf schools, raising awareness and providing essential health services to an underserved population.

Dr. Nafisa’s dedication to social impact and healthcare innovation has earned her multiple accolades, including the 2023 Early Career Grant by The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Uni:innovators Grant Award for Best Innovation, and the Best Research Presentation Award at the Kenyatta University Medical Research Club Scientific Conference.

Beyond her work with DEAFHEALTH, she actively engages in community health initiatives, including volunteering with the Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Professionals (KAMMP) to provide Basic Life Support training. Her vision is to create a healthcare system that is truly inclusive, accessible, and empowering for all—regardless of communication barriers.

Judy Chege‑Ndungu is a seasoned Counseling Psychologist, wife, and mother of three who founded Light a Candle Counselling Services. With a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Counseling Psychology and a Higher National Diploma in Human Resource Management from USIU‑A, she’s also certified in Career Development Facilitation via UCLA‑NCDA and an active member of the Kenya Counselling & Psychological Association. Over more than 22 years, Judy has excelled as a professional counselor, trainer, speaker, facilitator, career development specialist, and workforce development expert  . She led the Counseling & Careers department at a tertiary institution for nine years before launching Light a Candle, offering psychological counseling, mental health awareness talks, and career guidance in a serene, private setting . Her training spans gender integration, diversity and inclusion, leadership, and competency‑based education—evidencing a rich commitment to holistic development and community wellbeing .

Stacy Akinyi is the Co‑Founder & Executive Director of Great Ladies Organization, a Kisumu‑based CBO dedicated to empowering girls and women through health education, reproductive services, leadership development, and community outreach. Under her leadership, Great Ladies has launched impactful initiatives such as the “She Thrives” campaign tackling teenage pregnancy, HIV, and gender‑based violence and “Hedhi Bora,” which promotes menstrual health education and access to sanitary products . Stacy’s visionary approach fosters safe spaces and holistic growth, enabling young women in Kisumu to access critical support, build leadership skills, and advocate for gender equality.