5 Feb 2026, 15:47Sharon Platt-McDonald, BUC Health, Adventist Community Services and Women’s Ministries Director
Adventist Women Impacting Their Communities
The British Union Conference (BUC) Women’s Ministries Department continues to acknowledge Seventh-day Adventist women who are making a positive impact within their communities. As part of this ongoing series spotlighting influential Adventist women, we feature Dr Cecily Mwaniki, founder and Executive Officer of Utulivu Women’s Group – an award-winning charitable organisation – and Area 5 Women’s Ministries Coordinator. Dr Mwaniki shares that “gardening, reading, and writing keep me grounded.”
SPM – Dr Cecily, please share with our readers an outline of your career path.
CM – My career has taken many turns over the years, from being a teacher to working in community development through the lens of public health and health promotion. I am also a self-published author of 14 widely read books. My journey was shaped by an early ambition to work with the United Nations, which led me to study Women’s Studies, Substance Use and Misuse, Public Health and Health Promotion, and most recently International Public Health and Health Promotion.
My love for education also led me to undertake professional courses in counselling skills, emotional intelligence, and motivational interviewing. I currently serve as editor of Mojatu Berkshire Community Magazine and as the Health Inequalities Engagement Lead within my local NHS Trust. In 2025, I was honoured to receive an Honorary Doctorate Award from the University of Reading.
This academic journey, alongside my desire to serve communities, led to founding Utulivu Women’s Group, a charitable organisation working with women and girls, young people, and seniors, empowering them to take control of their health and wellbeing. I have also worked in the housing sector supporting the homeless and ex-offenders, and later with individuals living with mental health challenges, promoting recovery before moving into my current role in health inequalities engagement.
For many years, I have been actively involved in church ministries, including Women’s Ministries, Community Services, Health Ministries, and Family Ministries. These, particularly Women’s Ministries, have holistically nurtured me into the woman I am today.
SPM – How did you sense God’s leading along the way?
CM – I see God’s leading through His kindness, grace, peace, and patience as He carries me through the challenges of this work. I recognise that services across government, private, and voluntary sectors often operate on biblical principles, which gives me confidence in trusting God’s guidance in all that I do.
SPM – What areas of expertise have led you to your current role?
CM – My expertise centres on empowering vulnerable communities, fostering community cohesion, and advancing health equity. This has been shaped through years of building social and cultural capital, alongside developing emotional and social intelligence.
SPM – Tell us about your passion for working with women and how this has shaped your outreach initiatives.
CM – This passion comes from a deep desire to foster empowerment, collaboration, and mutual support – being the change we want to see. It has allowed women’s voices to be amplified, barriers to be broken, and meaningful connections to be formed. Through collaboration, competition is transformed into shared growth, creating emotional support and collective energy that enables women to achieve more together. This approach has created safe spaces to dream bigger, take risks, and lift one another, leading to personal, social, and professional growth.
SPM – What key interventions have you undertaken, and what impact have they had?
CM – One key area has been fostering support and sisterhood through women’s partnerships, which provide vital emotional support, reduce isolation, and build resilience during times of crisis.
Another focus has been advocating for safe spaces – environments free from judgement and harassment – which promote emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. These spaces help people feel secure, respected, and empowered, building trust-based, inclusive communities.
We have also tapped into creativity, which has enhanced positive mental health, fostered innovation, improved problem-solving skills, and boosted confidence while promoting a sense of purpose and joy.
SPM – You recently received a special award for your work. Please tell us about that experience.
CM – It was deeply emotional, humbling, validating, and surreal. In September 2025, I received an email from the Vice-Chancellor’s office at the University of Reading informing me that I was being considered for a Doctorate of Letters Award in recognition of my community engagement and advocacy in health and wellbeing. Just two weeks earlier, I had graduated from Warwick University with my second master’s degree in international public health and health promotion. I truly believe that when God moves, He breaks protocols. I was the only honorary graduate among over 500 graduates that day, and my family and I were honoured with special recognition. It was a moment I will always treasure.
SPM – What key message would you like to leave with our readers about outreach ministry?
CM – God calls the unqualified and qualifies them. Outreach ministry is a transformative, purpose-driven experience that extends the church’s love beyond its walls. It calls us to move from a sitting to a serving mindset, meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs – just as Jesus modelled throughout His ministry.
SPM – Thank you, Dr Cecily, for your ministry and the blessing it brings to so many lives.
The British Union Conference (BUC) Women’s Ministries Department continues to acknowledge Seventh-day Adventist women who are making a positive impact within their communities. As part of this ongoing series spotlighting influential Adventist women, we feature Dr Cecily Mwaniki, founder and Executive Officer of Utulivu Women’s Group – an award-winning charitable organisation – and Area 5 Women’s Ministries Coordinator. Dr Mwaniki shares that “gardening, reading, and writing keep me grounded.”
SPM – Dr Cecily, please share with our readers an outline of your career path.
CM – My career has taken many turns over the years, from being a teacher to working in community development through the lens of public health and health promotion. I am also a self-published author of 14 widely read books. My journey was shaped by an early ambition to work with the United Nations, which led me to study Women’s Studies, Substance Use and Misuse, Public Health and Health Promotion, and most recently International Public Health and Health Promotion.
My love for education also led me to undertake professional courses in counselling skills, emotional intelligence, and motivational interviewing. I currently serve as editor of Mojatu Berkshire Community Magazine and as the Health Inequalities Engagement Lead within my local NHS Trust. In 2025, I was honoured to receive an Honorary Doctorate Award from the University of Reading.
This academic journey, alongside my desire to serve communities, led to founding Utulivu Women’s Group, a charitable organisation working with women and girls, young people, and seniors, empowering them to take control of their health and wellbeing. I have also worked in the housing sector supporting the homeless and ex-offenders, and later with individuals living with mental health challenges, promoting recovery before moving into my current role in health inequalities engagement.
For many years, I have been actively involved in church ministries, including Women’s Ministries, Community Services, Health Ministries, and Family Ministries. These, particularly Women’s Ministries, have holistically nurtured me into the woman I am today.
SPM – How did you sense God’s leading along the way?
CM – I see God’s leading through His kindness, grace, peace, and patience as He carries me through the challenges of this work. I recognise that services across government, private, and voluntary sectors often operate on biblical principles, which gives me confidence in trusting God’s guidance in all that I do.
SPM – What areas of expertise have led you to your current role?
CM – My expertise centres on empowering vulnerable communities, fostering community cohesion, and advancing health equity. This has been shaped through years of building social and cultural capital, alongside developing emotional and social intelligence.
SPM – Tell us about your passion for working with women and how this has shaped your outreach initiatives.
CM – This passion comes from a deep desire to foster empowerment, collaboration, and mutual support – being the change we want to see. It has allowed women’s voices to be amplified, barriers to be broken, and meaningful connections to be formed. Through collaboration, competition is transformed into shared growth, creating emotional support and collective energy that enables women to achieve more together. This approach has created safe spaces to dream bigger, take risks, and lift one another, leading to personal, social, and professional growth.
SPM – What key interventions have you undertaken, and what impact have they had?
CM – One key area has been fostering support and sisterhood through women’s partnerships, which provide vital emotional support, reduce isolation, and build resilience during times of crisis.
Another focus has been advocating for safe spaces – environments free from judgement and harassment – which promote emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. These spaces help people feel secure, respected, and empowered, building trust-based, inclusive communities.
We have also tapped into creativity, which has enhanced positive mental health, fostered innovation, improved problem-solving skills, and boosted confidence while promoting a sense of purpose and joy.
SPM – You recently received a special award for your work. Please tell us about that experience.
CM – It was deeply emotional, humbling, validating, and surreal. In September 2025, I received an email from the Vice-Chancellor’s office at the University of Reading informing me that I was being considered for a Doctorate of Letters Award in recognition of my community engagement and advocacy in health and wellbeing. Just two weeks earlier, I had graduated from Warwick University with my second master’s degree in international public health and health promotion. I truly believe that when God moves, He breaks protocols. I was the only honorary graduate among over 500 graduates that day, and my family and I were honoured with special recognition. It was a moment I will always treasure.
SPM – What key message would you like to leave with our readers about outreach ministry?
CM – God calls the unqualified and qualifies them. Outreach ministry is a transformative, purpose-driven experience that extends the church’s love beyond its walls. It calls us to move from a sitting to a serving mindset, meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs – just as Jesus modelled throughout His ministry.
SPM – Thank you, Dr Cecily, for your ministry and the blessing it brings to so many lives.
