Sister Rose Wangui

Founder, Mercy Center

Sr. Rose Wangui, a Roman Catholic nun of the Order of the Visitation, was born in 1962 in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. One of seven children of a poor Kikuyu family, she grew up in the rural area of Lare and was the only girl among her peers to complete secondary school.

Professed as a nun in 1986, she left Kenya in 1994 to join the community of sisters at the Visitation monastery in Washington, D.C. Moved by her sense of urgency and compassion, a group of Washington area benefactors adopted Sr. Rose's dream of improving the health and education of the people of Lare and the surrounding area.

With this goal at heart, the Mercy Center Foundation USA and Mercy Center Kenya were established in 2003. Today, Sr. Rose continues to guide the spirit and goals of both the Mercy Center Foundation USA and its operational wing, the Mercy Center in Lare, Kenya, while simultaneously contributing as a member of the Visitation community.