Meet Moses Kavishe - We Raise Foundation

Meet Moses Kavishe

Emerging Leader Grantee

Ask Moses Kavishe, 28, what inspires him most, and he’ll tell you immediately.

“People making a difference—people making an impact in their community, in the world – that inspires me,” he says. And it’s clear Kavishe wants to be one of those people. In 2010, at the age of 23, he left Tanzania because he longed for a challenge (“I needed to stretch, to grow, to be more than what I was”) and arrived in the U.S. not knowing a soul.

Today, Kavishe serves as Youth and Family Director at St. Paul Lutheran Church (Carlisle, Penn.), where he helps young people integrate faith into their daily lives and navigate the transition into adulthood. With a heart for this age group, it’s not surprising that he developed Mentorleaf, a professional mentoring website connecting college students with Christian mentors. In 2017, he received a Wheat Ridge Emerging Leader Grant to make Mentorleaf a reality.

Connections are very important to Kavishe, who credits numerous mentors in his life with becoming the family he left behind. Kavishe’s first mentor was Bill, whom he describes as generous and kind. “He was always available to listen to me and give me advice,” he says. As a student at Messiah College, Kavishe participated in a mentorship program pairing alumni and students—and he never forgot how his mentor’s influence informed his life choices.

Most of all, Kavishe values his connection with God through his faith, especially during lean times when he had little money and no one to talk to. “God was able to care for me, help me reach my goals, and fulfill my purpose,” he says. Kavishe graduated from Messiah College with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and went on to attend Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary to pursue a Certificate in Youth and Family Ministry.

From immigrant to college graduate, Kavishe is grateful for where he is now and what he is doing, and continues to look for ways to help others succeed. “When you help people, you could make the difference between them giving up and them living out their dreams,” he says.

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