Ripples of Impact Docuseries: Faith Kipkemboi

Mastercard Foundation Scholars are giving back to their communities and exercising leadership and agency across the African continent. Ripples of Impact is an inspiring 12-part docuseries showing how Scholars are using their knowledge, resources, and lived experiences to solve challenges, fill gaps, and drive meaningful change in their communities.  

Faith Kipkemboi, is an advocate for child, maternal and mental health. For Faith, mental health and well-being is personal as a number of years ago her mother died while 8 months pregnant, a crushing loss to Faith and her father.

Faith is a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumni from McGill University where she earned a Bachelor of Science. She is also a Registered Nurse and Founder of Cactus Mama, a telemental health program that provides women in rural Kenya with health services during and after their pregnancy. Through Cactus Mama, Faith developed BridgeMe Mobile and Web App, platforms that connect clients to teletherapy, person-centered, affordable, and quality care.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic Faith observed a gap in mental health care delivery; patients were unable to visit mental health providers in clinical settings due to pandemic protocols. Some were able to connect with their health providers by phone, but others saw their health recovery impacted, unable to connect to the support they needed. Cactus Mama’s BridgeMe App seeks to remove the stigma around mental health and places care in the hands of the client. It is a confidential and secure platform, enabling clients to choose when and where they receive support. Faith is currently doing an online MSc in digital education as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Edinburgh.

Learn more about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.