Meet Mary, the founder of Restart Africa.

Mary Coulson is the founder of the Restart Africa Charity and the Sanata Charitable Trust. Originally from Scotland, she moved out to Kenya in 1967 to teach in local schools. She met her husband Terry and settled with him in the Gilgil region of Kenya. Mary is a wonderful raconteur who has delighted me with many of her amusing anecdotes of her life in Kenya. Both Mary and Terry were instrumental in building two schools in the Gilgil area. Sadly Terry passed away in 2011, I would have loved to have met him.
In 2007, following the post election violence in Kenya, many Kenyans were displaced from their villages and almost overnight the population of Gilgil swelled. Many of those displaced were children who had either been orphaned, abandoned or driven out of their home. These children were living on the streets, falling victim to hunger, violence, sexual abuse and drugs. 
Mary was so horrified at seeing such young children on the street she felt compelled to do something. She found shelter to rent to provide refuge for those children so desperately in need. This is how the Restart orphanage was born, initially taking in just 6 street boys. 
The orphanage grew and grew in capacity until it housed around a hundred children, both boys and girls, ages ranging from just a few months to boys in their late teens. The orphanage was in a poor state of repair, with the boys all being housed in one room which contained many bunk beds, often sleeping two to a bunk. The toilets were a hole in the ground, and the orphanage had few facilities. I defy anyone not to have been moved to tears if they had seen it, however it was still safer than the streets and it gave the children their basic human needs of food, shelter, and Mary's love. 
The orphanage is completely run on charitable donations, Mary receives no grants or funding of any kind from the Kenyan government! Over the last several years Mary's tireless fundraising has raised enough money to have a brand new orphanage built out of the town. The new orphanage consists of a a dining hall/ recreational hall, separate boys and girl dormitory with only 4 children to a room, two classrooms, a library, a computer room, and a music room. 
The orphanage grows it's own vegetables to feed the children. 
At the moment there are 100 children in residence, who are fed and are provided with an education at the local schools. The school fees are also paid by donations. Mary hopes to raise enough in donations to build a second story so that up to another 100 street children can be taken in. 
Mary still works tirelessly every day in the day to day running of the orphanage, most people have retired by her age (I won't be rude and say how old). 
Many of the children believe that Mary has saved their lives, something of which I have no doubt about. To see the love in their eyes when she goes to the orphanage is truly moving. 
If there were more Mary's in the world it would be a much nicer place. 
Meet Mary, a truly wonderful, generous, passionate and dedicated human being!!!