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 our full Statement of Faith here
Read our 2020 Rafiki Report

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 (President and Founder), Karen Elliott (Executive Director), John Chunn, Rev. Dr. Tim Hoke, Lisa Horton, Rev. Dr. Dennis Johnson, Mayhoward Johnston, Lanny Nixon, Carla Northington, Rev. Dr. Jack Preus, Tom Shoquist, and Dr. Guy Waters.
.jpg)
Karen J. Elliott – Rafiki Executive Director
Karen travels to Africa several times each year to oversee operations at each Rafiki Village and considers herself to be an "American African", comfortable talking to presidents of African countries, national church leaders, local tribal chieftains... but especially in caring for the children and students at Rafiki Villages.
Karen was born in Houston, Texas and prior to joining Rafiki, she was in commercial banking in Houston, TX where she maintained multimillion-dollar loan portfolios for small businesses and managed the bank's credit division. She holds a BBA degree in finance/accounting from Southern Methodist University (and also a music minor), and earned her Masters degree in education from University of Texas at Arlington. Karen is a member of St. Andrews Chapel in Sanford, FL and was for many years a teaching leader for Bible Study Fellowship while in Texas and in Africa. Karen served as a founding board member for LifeHouse, a home for unwed mothers in Houston, Texas which is still in operation today.
Karen views herself as simply a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who desires to help others come to know God and become lifelong disciples of him and learners of all he has created.
.png)
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 2019 990 Form
Rafiki's 2019 Audited Financial Statements