Introducing Yuka Itakura Mwashimba

Japanese by Birth; Kenyan by Marriage; and Jesus Lover by Choice

Yuka Itakura Mwashimba could not have imagined her life today; married to her beloved for the past ten years and being the mother of two beautiful girls, experiencing the love of Jesus and shining her light through musical empowerment and community improvement. This was because, at an early age, she contemplated suicide in a bid to seek freedom from the psychological and verbal abuse inflicted on her by her father. All was hopeless around her until she gave her life to Christ and began going to church, where she found solace and freedom from suicidal thoughts. Then, deciding to commit her life to the service of humanity, she moved to the UK, where she studied Humanitarian Aid and met her husband, Nick.

Yuka’s conversion from Buddhism to Christianity met with rejection from her family, who accused her of bringing shame to them. But she was determined to try out a new way that offered hope. Sadly, to this day, partly due to this, Yuka is not on speaking terms with some of her family members. Instead, she described her faith as the best decision she has made; according to her, the death of Jesus Christ on her behalf opened her eyes to how valuable she is to God.