Clean Start has appointed Dr. Patriciah Murugami as the company’s Chair to the Board, and Renee Ngamau on being appointed as a Board Director.
Clean Start focuses on breaking the poverty, petty crimes incarceration cycle, by giving women in conflict with the law, and their children, a second chance. Clean Start was founded by Teresa Njoroge, who was inspired to start the program after serving time between 2009 – 2011 at the Langata Women Maximum Security Prison. At the time, she was accompanied by her then one year old daughter.
Her first hand experience of prison and the desperate plight of the women and girls she met behind bars and the revolving door of crime and poverty she witnessed inspired her to devote her life to the equipping, empowering and preparation of imprisoned women for the precarious journey of reintegration into society.
After her release, Teresa, along with her suckling toddler, met with the Director of Rehabilitation and Welfare of the Kenya Prisons Service in 2013. This meeting marked the beginning of a journey to address the plight of female prisoners in and out of prison. The Director’s affirmation set Teresa on an interaction path with other formerly imprisoned women for 2 years.
Teresa was inspired by the women’s stories of rejection, stigma, lack of opportunities out of prison. She was motivated to continue reaching out to other women and conducting prison visits.
Her passion and commitment drives her to inspire generations of entrepreneurs to transcend the cycle of chronic poverty, survival crimes and incarceration. She hopes to expand her work and help cut Kenya’s high rates of recidivism while growing the country’s restorative justice programs.