Loyce Mbewa-Ong'udi was born and raised in the small village of Rabuor in western Kenya, not far from the shores of Lake Victoria. During her formative years, Loyce never saw herself as living in poverty, but rather as someone who was blessed with the fellowship and strong support of her community. At that time, a time before the arrival of HIV/AIDS, villagers were living full and enriching lives despite limited means, pooling resources when necessary to overcome unforeseen challenges (see harambee). 

A top student and athlete, Loyce finished her secondary education with high honors and began working in the capitol of Nairobi. She held positions with a number of multi-national firms before deciding to move with her family to the United States in search of a better life. After her arrival in the U.S. in 1996, Loyce made her way to Seattle where she began working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During her almost three years at the Foundation, Loyce learned a great deal about the health challenges that developing countries were facing in the age of HIV/AIDS. This newfound knowledge prompted her to reflect on her home village of Rabuor and the grave problems that her family and friends were experiencing. She felt compelled to act and began thinking of ways she could give back to the people she loved.

This wish turned to opportunity when in 2002, Loyce was asked to join a delegation traveling to Africa to coordinate a high-profile visit by President Jimmy Carter and Bill Gates Sr. to several countries including Kenya. The agenda for this Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-sponsored trip was the advancement of knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS in Africa. During the course of the trip, Loyce was able to return to her native home for the first time in several years, only to find a place radically transformed by the arrival of HIV/AIDS. Deeply moved by this experience, Loyce decided that she needed to find a way to help her home village overcome the devastating consequences she had witnessed.

At first, her efforts were modest. Loyce, a single mother, would take whatever was left over from her monthly paycheck and send it to the village. A local women's group used this money to help care for the increasing numbers of sick adults and orphaned children. But the magnitude of the problem was overwhelming and it was clear that more had to be done. Eventually, Loyce's friends and acquaintances became increasingly involved in helping Loyce in her mission and it was in this collective spirit that the not-for-profit organization, Rabuor Village Project (RVP), was officially formed in 2003.

Since founding the Rabuor Village Project, Loyce has been serving as the organization's president and defining the way forward for sustainable community development in her home village of Rabuor. Her vision is to combat HIV/AIDS and the resulting hardships through community-based solutions that are driven by the ingenuity and strength of local people. In addition to volunteering her time to run RVP, Loyce is a mother of two and is pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Non-profit Management at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She is a Truman Scholar, member of the University of Washington's Global Health Resource Center, and has spoken at dozens of meetings and events throughout the United States on the effects of HIV/AIDS in African communities and community-based responses to HIV/AIDS. Loyce's relentless hope and commitment have resulted in a vast improvement in the lives of Rabuor's residents and it is her hope to replicate the success of these efforts in other similar communities in the future.