To be a force for eradicating poverty in African slums and villages by bringing hope and a brighter future to young women through, mentoring, technical skills development and entrepreneurship skills.
To establish technical centers which will teach job skills for self-sustainability, while dually working towards an enhanced morally upright society.
My name is Lydia Opiyo, and I am the founder of Passion to Share Foundation.
People often ask why I started this organization. The answer is simple: I became the person I once desperately needed.Â
I grew up in a broken family where my parents separated , and by the age of thirteen, I had lived under the care of seven different stepmothers. Instead of experiencing the love and security every child deserves, I endured years of physical and verbal abuse. I was denied the chance to attend school and became the family’s house help — cooking, cleaning, and caring for others while losing my own childhood. One day, after a severe beating, my seventh stepmother attempted to stab me. My stepbrother intervened and saved my life. I fled home with nowhere to go.
That was the darkest moment of my life, but it became the beginning of a new one!
I found my way to Kwa Watoto School, a childrens home located in Kayole slums, Nairobi where I met Madam Carolyne. She welcomed me with kindness and introduced me to Warm Hearts Children’s Home. For the first time in my life, I experienced what it felt like to be safe. At WarmHearts, I returned to school. I ate three meals a day. I slept in my own bed for the first time and received my very own blanket — a blanket I still treasure today because it reminds me where hope began.
More importantly, I found people who loved me unconditionally. I found parents, mentors, lifelong friends, and a family that believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.
One group of volunteers, led by Kindee, visited us regularly. They painted our home, brought gifts, laughed with us, and made us feel seen. Their kindness changed me forever. One day, Kindee asked each of us what we wanted to become when we grew up. Around me, the other children dreamed of becoming doctors, engineers, and teachers.
When it was my turn, I answered differently.
“I want to become just like you” .
I didn’t dream of a profession. I dreamed of becoming someone who rescues others with love, just as they had rescued me.
Warm Hearts Foundation sponsored my education and allowed me to build a future I never imagined possible. After graduating from college, I worked in different jobs, but something was always missing. I knew my purpose was not simply to earn a living; it was to give back the hope that had been given to me.
In 2019, I registered Passion to Share Foundation, and in 2020, I opened our first skills training center for the girls in Kibera slums.
Having lived in Kibera, I had witnessed the heartbreaking realities many girls face. Poverty pushes some into prostitution simply to survive. Others are trapped in early marriages or exploitative relationships in exchange for food, rent, or school fees. Many leave school because they lack opportunities to learn employable skills and break the cycle of poverty.
I saw myself in these girls.
Today, Passion to Share Foundation is more than an organization. It is a place of hope. A place where girls are trained in employable skills, mentored, loved, and reminded that their circumstances do not define their future. Every time I see a girl discover her confidence, graduate from our programs, or believe in herself again, I am reminded that my pain was not the end of my story. It became my purpose.
I will forever be grateful to WarmHearts Foundation for believing in me, investing in my education, and continuing to walk alongside us as we seek partners and donors to expand this work.
Someone once reached out and changed the course of my life. Today, through Passion to Share Foundation, I have the privilege of doing the same for another girl. Because when you rescue one girl, you don’t just change one life — you change the life of an entire family, generations, and the Kibera slums community as a whole!
The heart of Passion to Share Foundation is captured in three simple words: Empowered to Empower. This theme is deeply personal to me—because before I could change anyone else’s life, someone first changed mine.
As a child, I was rescued from abuse, given a safe home, sent to school, and shown unconditional love by the WarmHearts Foundation. They didn’t just provide food, shelter, and education; they restored my hope and showed me my true worth. Their kindness completely transformed my future.
I realized the greatest way to honor the gift I received was to pass it on. That is why I founded Passion to Share Foundation.
Today, I see myself in every young woman who walks through our doors. Many come from difficult backgrounds, just as I did. They need someone to believe in them and remind them that their circumstances do not define their future. The empowerment I received is now the empowerment I give. The kindness that saved my life did not end with me—it continues through every girl whose future is transformed at PSF.
Fund a girl through our six months of training in one of our certified course programs
(fashion design, graphic design, beauty therapy or hair dressing) and additional life skills course
(customer service, marketing, communication, creative arts and public speaking).
