We recently connected with Esther Amunga and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Esther thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

My personal mission statement is “make your life count for something great”. I hope that I will be remembered for taking every chance, moment failure or opportunity and making it count for something great. I want people to remember my faith in God, my love for my daughter, that I was a good friend, my passion to inspire others through my work, and my determination and resilience. That I didn’t simply exist but lived and pursued by assignment.

Esther, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Esther is a vibrant, compassionate, strategic, and outgoing woman. I am a mom (aka ‘mama in chief!’), author, inspirational speaker, trainer, nonprofit consultant and social entrepreneur. I am an American with Kenya heritage, and reside in Michigan.

I am passionate about sharing my story about overcoming obstacles to inspire others through speaking engagements and writing. I also love to write, and recently launched a children’s book series starting with “Makenna the World Traveler ~ Ready for an African Safari.” The purpose of this book series is to give children an appreciation of the global village in which we live as they learn about other cultures. In the many attempts to encourage embracing diversity, we see children of America introduced to other cultures through Makenna, a young girl born to an immigrant family from Kenya, as she travels to all the continents. My book character will travel to various destinations all over the world.

I am a passionate nonprofit professional dedicated to empowering organizations and individuals in the nonprofit sector. With expertise in areas such as donor communications/engagement, community development, marketing, strategic planning, annual fund development, fundraising strategies, data analytics, impact assessment, and grant writing/management I help small and midsize nonprofit organizations get healthy and grow.

I love fashion and interior design so I launched Esstaaz African Fashion Accessories, a social enterprise that sells and promotes fashion and home decor accessories made by women from vulnerable and low-income communities in East Africa. My hope is to alleviate poverty by lifting up one woman at a time so that to meet her basic needs and those of her family. As a hobby I promote other African designers on my Facebook page which showcases beautifully crafted African inspired fashion and decor.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I began grad school in 2020 then COVID lockdowns happened so I canceled my studies and resumed in 2021 during a nasty divorce proceeding that left me drained. I did not know if I would make it through as a single mom who had started out from scratch with no alimony or spousal support and very little money in my bank account. I had a terrible credit score and a child to raise all by myself while working full-time at a church to make ends meet. But I decided to own my life and my story. I am so thankful to see how much I have moved forward in my career growth and business ventures. Through many prayers, healing from trauma caused by an abusive relationship, a determination to not quit, and many long hours of studying and working hard, I have overcome numerous odds and challenges. The days ahead certainly look better than the days behind me. Sometimes what was meant to kill is the very thing that we can use as a stepping stone to grow. Setbacks can be setups for comebacks.

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, this year an individual I know, whose motive is unknown, decided to demolish my house in Kenya. I was devastated but tough as that was, I decided that my purpose is too important and my calling too great to stay offended or get distracted so I focused on doing well in school. In June, I was nominated by faculty and was awarded an unexpected scholarship as one of the top students in the department!

I am so thankful that I now have 3 brand names in my company that I am building slowly but steadily. I have published my children’s book and sold about 500 copies since 2021 and my book is in some libraries. I have done visits to schools as a guest author and I am working on my next book. I have created a buzz around my social enterprise, Esstaaz African Fashion & Home Decor whose Facebook page now has more than 2,000 followers and is rapidly growing as an online community. I have started offering coaching and training services to small and midsized nonprofits as a nonprofit coach and trainer.

I am graduating this year in December with a Masters degree in Nonprofit Administration with a current GPA of 3.98, and just got inducted into the NU LAMBA NU, The International Honor Society for Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, and Social Entrepreneurship & Enterprise. I completed my graduate certificate in Church Administration last year and earned two graduate certificates in Nonprofit Management and Nonprofit Governance this year in July. Now clients can trust that they are speaking to a professional…ha!

I have a big dream for my life but God has a bigger dream for me so all I do is surrender, and not limit myself or let others squeeze me into the boxes they think I should fit in. I believe that with God, absolutely nothing is impossible…all we have to do is believe and keep going. It’s not perfection, but progress. Don’t wait for circumstances to be perfect because every day will present new challenges.

Two quotes that sum up my story of resilience are:

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Be consistent, listen to customer feedback even when it’s bad, don’t try to go fast – build a reputable brand slowly. Do your research and Be relevant to your market. Collaborate with others in the industry and also know your competition and learn from them. Always strive for excellence and sell what customers need-not what you think they want. The customer pays your salary! Keep learning about digital and online platforms because that’s where majority of customers are shopping and engaging. Be authentic as you tell your story.

Contact Info:

• Website: estheramunga.com
• Instagram: Ess Inspires
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEstherAmunga?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-amunga-kemoli?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-amunga-kemoli
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@essinspires