A story of resilience, love, and unwavering commitment to community from one grandmother's walk through Migori County to a youth-led movement reaching thousands today
In the 1940s, during Kenya's formative years, a God-fearing widow named Mikera walked miles through the rugged terrain of Mifwadhi Kanyamkago Village in Migori County, her children carried on her back. Widowed young and without formal education or economic means, she was left to provide for her family alone in a community with few safety nets.
What she lacked in resources, Mikera made up for in conviction. She championed values around health, food and agriculture, sanitation, and sustainability long before these became "development priorities" not because she had studied them, but because she lived them, out of necessity and out of love for her family and her neighbors.
Mikera's grandchildren and the wider community she had served grew up carrying her example with them. As they came of age, they saw the same struggles she had faced decades earlier still playing out around Lake Victoria young people without access to health information, girls dropping out of school, farmers battling degraded land, and communities left out of decisions that shaped their futures.
Rather than let her story end with her, they chose to build something in her name: an organization that would carry her spirit of service into a new generation. MIKEDA Youth Empowerment Organization was established as a deliberate, youth-led answer to the question of what Mikera would do if she were alive today — not just to honor her memory, but to continue her unfinished work of lifting up the most vulnerable, one household and one young person at a time.
From Mikera, our founding grandmother
From Dana, meaning "grandmother" in Luo
A tribute to her enduring legacy of love, courage, and community service
Mikera walks through Mifwadhi Kanyamkago Village, Migori County, raising her family and quietly championing health, food security, sanitation, and sustainability within her community.
Though illiterate and economically challenged, Mikera devotes her life to her family and her community, planting values that would outlive her by generations.
Inspired by Mikera's example, a new generation formally establishes MIKEDA as a youth-led organization committed to health, climate action, governance, and economic empowerment across the Lake Victoria region.
Our flagship peer-to-peer mental health mentorship program grows to support 300 young people across three counties.
The Young People for Sustainable Agriculture initiative expands to reach 200 more farmers across Migori and Homa Bay counties.
MIKEDA graduates from the Ijue Data Yako II Project, joining 25 other outstanding social impact organizations across Kenya.
MIKEDA continues Mikera's mission by empowering vulnerable children and youth especially girls and young women to live healthy, dignified, and impactful lives.
What began as one woman's quiet resilience has grown into a youth-led organization working across Kenya's Lake Victoria region, delivering integrated programs across four strategic pillars.
"We see a future where every young person in Kenya's Lake Victoria region regardless of gender, ability, or circumstance has the health, voice, skills, and opportunity to thrive. Just as Mikera walked the last mile for her own family, MIKEDA is committed to walking the last mile for every community we serve, until empowerment reaches the households and young people who need it most."
The principles that guide our work today
Selfless dedication to helping others and building stronger communities
Overcoming challenges with determination and unwavering spirit
Deep empathy and care for the wellbeing of others
Looking beyond current circumstances to create a better future