Olga Marlin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
November 12, 1934
Olga Marlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Olga Emily Marlinn November 12, 1934 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 2025 (aged 90) Nairobi, Kenya |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin; University College Dublin |
| Occupation(s) | Educator and author |
| Known for | Founding member of Kianda School, Nairobi, Kenya |
| Notable work | To Africa with a Dream |
Olga Marlin (November 12, 1934 – January 5, 2025) was an American-born educator based in Kenya. She is the author of To Africa with a Dream and a founding member of Kianda School, Nairobi, Kenya, which started in 1961 as Kianda Secretarial College, and was the first multi-racial girls' school in East Africa.[citation needed]
Marlin was a member of the Strathmore University University Council.
Olga Emily Marlin was born in New York City on November 12, 1934,[1][2] and studied modern languages at Trinity College Dublin, from which she received her MA degree in 1956. She also held a H.Dip.Ed. from University College Dublin (1957).[3]
In 1960, she was sent by Saint Josemaria Escriva to Kenya, at a time when few African women had any access to a formal education, and in 1961 she began, together with other women, Kianda College, a secretarial college that was open to women of all races,[3][4] which in 1993 became part of Strathmore University.
The second edition of her book To Africa with a Dream, which describes her 50 years of work in Kenya and other African countries, was published in 2011 by Boissevain Books.[4]
In June 2011, she received a Litt.D. degree, honoris causa, from Strathmore University,[3] the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the University.[citation needed] Marlin died January 5, 2025, at the age of 90.[5]
