Dr Sikulu-Lord together with her husband Dr Anton Lord founded She Shines Memorial Foundation in 2014 as a charity in Kenya which was later registered in Australia as She Shines Memorial Association Australia Inc. as a charity in 2017. She completed her PhD at Griffith University, Australia in 2013. Dr Sikulu-Lord grew up in this community and was once one of these kids not long ago. She therefore perfectly understands the problems the girls in this community face. Brought up by parents who were both primary school teachers, Dr Sikulu-Lord attended one of the local primary schools but went on to join one of the best high schools in the country.

“The only difference between me and these kids is the fact that my parents made sure I had access to resources needed to complete primary school and high school education to join university, Dr Sikulu-Lord now a vector-borne disease researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia said”. She added that if she was not provided with mentorship, she would have definitely dropped out of school at her 10th grade. This is why she is passionate about girls’ education. She believes the only way we can fight poverty, infectious diseases and climate change in Africa is by investing in the education of women. She founded She Shines Memorial Association in memory of her mother Esther Namarome Sikulu who was also very passionate about education of the girl child.