Irene Wangeshi never knew her father. She was raised in a Kenyan village by her impoverished single mother—who tragically died when Irene turned fifteen. Irene's grandmother, with whom she lived after her mother's death, died shortly after Irene graduated from high school. With no living relatives remaining, Irene found herself alone and destitute. She moved to the capital city of Nairobi where she found a job working for a wealthy family as a house maid.