About the Rafiki Foundation
Rafiki Means Friend
“Rafiki” means friend in Swahili and depicts the purpose of the Foundation—to help people know God and raise their standard of living.
The vision of the Rafiki Foundation is to cultivate a multitude of godly contributors in ten African countries.
To accomplish this, Rafiki established ten Rafiki Training Villages within the African countries of Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. These Villages provide living and educational facilities through Rafiki’s five programs: Bible Study, Education, Teacher Training, Orphan Care, and Widows.
Rafiki’s strategy is to equip Africans to cultivate a multitude of godly contributors by: caring for and educating orphans, providing Bible study and Classical Christian education to the African church, giving help to widows, and equipping thousands of church schools with high quality education and well trained teachers.
Read about our Founder
Read our full Statement of Faith here
Bible Study Program
Education Program
Teachers College
Orphan Care Program
Training Villages
Rafiki Exchange
Rafiki Home Office
Rafiki Board of Directors
The Foundation is overseen by a board of directors comprised of individuals who are united by a commitment to the vision and mission of the Foundation. Rosemary Jensen (Founder), Karen Elliott (Executive Director), Rev. Dr. Dennis Johnson (President), Rev. Dr. Tim Hoke, Mayhoward Johnston, David Kumpe, Lanny Nixon, Carla Northington, Tom Shoquist, and Dr. Guy Waters.
Karen J. Elliott – Rafiki Executive Director
Director of Facilities and Services
Director of Finance
Tom joined Rafiki in 2001 serving, along with his family, as a missionary in Kenya for nine years. During that time, he handled the finances for the Village and served in the school. He has an MBA from Belhaven University and is a Certified Management Accountant. He previously worked as a Senior Information Specialist at Electronic Data Systems in Troy, Michigan.
Director of Africa Operations
Erica oversees the operation of Rafiki’s ten PreK-12 classical Christian schools and orphan homes. She joined Rafiki in 2010 as a missionary and served as the headmaster of the Rafiki School in Rwanda, and moved to Nigeria to serve as headmaster from 2013-2017. She has a masters degree in education and will soon compete a masters degree in classical and Christian studies.
As the RICE Program Administrator Cathy oversees the operations of Rafiki’s seven teacher training colleges in Africa. She has a Bachelor’s and master’s degree in education. She also is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and has over 30 years’ experience in teacher training and education in Florida. Cathy holds certifications in:
- IDEA (Exceptional Student Education) Compliance Coordinator
- Professional Learning Specialist
- Guidance Counselor
Curriculum Manager
Anne oversees the development of Rafiki’s Prek-12 Classical Christian School Curriculum and has interfaced with over 60 curriculum writers in the last 11 years in this process. She joined Rafiki in 2011 and serves as general editor of our school curriculum, collaborating with authors of Pre-K-12 grade classical Christian curricula to insure accurate content, biblical worldview, intentional classical pedagogy, and teacher-friendly lesson plans. She has a BS in Education from Belhaven University, 11 years of classroom teaching experience in classical Christian education, and 11 years classical, Christian curriculum development experience.
RICE Program Developer
Dr. Carol Kranz is an educational consultant with research interests in curriculum, instruction, and educational systems in Africa. She presently oversees the curriculum development for Rafiki’s Institute for Classical Education (RICE) or classical Christian teacher’s colleges in Africa. Carol started with Rafiki in 1998 serving, along with her family, as a missionary in East Africa. Carol served as as a teaching leader for Bible Study
Financial Accountability
The Rafiki Foundation is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. See the ECFA’s profile on The Rafiki Foundation.
Rafiki has received a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities. See Charity Navigator’s evaluation of The Rafiki Foundation.
Rafiki's 2022 990 Form
Rafiki's 2022 Audited Financial Statements