About · Founder
Meet Pauline Mbuvi
Pauline Mbuvi is the President of Stephen Mbuvi Global and a retired Certified Clinical Research Professional in cancer treatment.
Her Story
Pauline grew up on a small farm in Ngurumo village in Kenya’s hilly Nyeri district, one of seven children. The family grew coffee as a cash crop, kept dairy cows, and raised maize, beans and vegetables. She harvested coffee, milked cows, fetched water, and learned early what she still believes: hard work is a form of hope.
She was the first in her family to attend boarding school, then earned a diploma in animal science from a government-sponsored college and worked in agricultural extension in Embu, where she met Stephen Mbuvi. They married, and when Stephen received a USAID sponsorship to study in the United States, Pauline and their daughter joined him. While he pursued his doctorate, she earned her MS in Animal Science at the University of Illinois, then built a second career in oncology care and clinical cancer research. By then they were a family of six.
After Stephen’s death in 2001, Pauline raised their children, supported family in Kenya, and coordinated every project growing at Kiteta Primary School. When the work outgrew what one family could hold, she led the founding of Stephen Mbuvi Global in 2024.
She anchors it all in a verse she returns to: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10, NIV)
"Brighten the corner where you are."
Pauline Mbuvi, Founder and President
Milestones
-
1957
Stephen Mbuvi is born in Kiteta, Makueni County
-
2001
The library at Kiteta Primary School begins
-
2024
Stephen Mbuvi Global receives 501(c)(3) status
-
2026
Ndithiini Vocational School opens
Her work is a continuation of his.
For Pauline, Kiteta is not a project site. It is the community that raised her husband, the school that shaped him, and the people who still carry his memory.
Stephen carried big dreams for the place he grew up in. He talked about a venue where Kiteta’s wood carvers, basket weavers and dancers could show and sell their work. His own mother was among the finest basket weavers. The talent was never in question, only the market for it.
Pauline, in her own words
"The library of dreams was the start of fulfilling some of Stephen’s dreams. Little by little, I saw that supporting education was one venue where such talents can be exposed to the world. I envision SMG as a baobab tree, a tree of life, where life is sustained through many channels."
"Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" (Isaiah 58:7, NIV)