TOMMY NYAWIR

Founder of the Mirror of Hope, located in Kenya, in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi, joined the Rotary Club of Blacktown City members and guests as guest speaker on 13 August 2025.

Tommy grew up in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi, and a chance encounter with an Irish traveler changed his life forever.

After a brief interaction, this stranger Tommy met while passing through Kibera slum had offered to pay for his entire secondary education.

Tommy’s life took a turn from that day. Since completing his secondary and the university education, Tommy has devoted his life to paying forward the gift of education to as many children as possible.

Tommy founded the Mirror of Hope, a non-profit organization providing educational scholarships and mentoring, giving impoverished young people the opportunity to lift themselves out of hardship.

The scholarships provide boarding school education to young boys and girls from impoverished families in Kibera slum. Boarding school represents a high-quality education, in a safer and more conducive environment than the slums. Students gain the necessary skills to find well-paid employment, and the ability to control their destiny despite their difficult backgrounds.

Inspire HER STEM PROGRAMS FOR GIRLS

The Mirror of Hope also provides girls from rural Kenya with high school education plus as additional 2 years of schooling in Science Technology, Engineering and Math, allowing them to equally compete for meaningful work. STEM skills are highly sought after, providing pathways into high-paying and flexible careers such as computer science and digital gig work.

Mirror of Hope is supported by Teacher in a Box and the Rotary Club of Blacktown City