Mary Okelo: The Daughter of Canon Awori and Pioneer of Private School Education in Kenya

Abstract

Mary Okelo stands out as a great educator and entrepreneur. Not only was she a banker, but she also went on to run a successful business, an international school that met the needs of many Kenyans then thirsting for meaningful, effective education for their children at a time when the education situation was shaky. As a woman leader and intellectual, she belongs to the group of women from Western Kenya known as the “firsts,” as she is the pioneer founder of a private school. Her family background, with its diversity and richness of members, is a lesson in fortitude and nurture, a testament to the value of a solid nuclear family that nurtures dreams and allows growth.