How It All Began

One Prison Visit Changed Everything

In January 2005, Jana O'Guin traveled to Kenya on her first mission trip, never imagining that one unexpected prison visit would change the course of her life.

One afternoon, Jana's team visited a men's prison. During the visit, she learned there was also a women's prison nearby and asked if she could visit the women.

That simple question changed everything.

As Jana listened to the women's stories, she began to see them as far more than prisoners. Many were mothers whose lives had been shaped by poverty, limited opportunities, broken relationships, and difficult circumstances. Some had been incarcerated for relatively minor offenses, and nearly all carried a deep concern for the children they had left behind.

Some children were living inside the prison with their mothers. Others had been sent to relatives or were living without a stable place to call home.

Jana couldn't stop thinking about them.

One little boy in particular captured her heart. His story became the beginning of a journey that would eventually lead to the founding of Building Families For Tomorrow.

What began with concern for one child gradually revealed a much larger need: helping a child was important, but lasting change required restoring the family around that child.

That realization became the foundation of BFFT's whole-family approach.

Today, Building Families For Tomorrow partners with the Kenya Prison Service to identify women preparing for release and walks alongside families through the process of restoration—from caring for children affected by incarceration to helping mothers and children reunite, establish homes, build sustainable incomes, and move toward independence.

What began with one unexpected prison visit has become a mission to restore mothers, rebuild families, and transform generations.

About Jana O'Guin

Founder & Executive Director of Building Families For Tomorrow

Jana O'Guin is the Founder and Executive Director of Building Families For Tomorrow (BFFT), a nonprofit organization serving women leaving prison and children affected by incarceration in Kenya.

Before founding BFFT, Jana built her career in leadership and management, including serving as an executive with Bell Helicopter. She later served as International Director of Celebrate Recovery at Saddleback Church, where her work expanded her experience in ministry, leadership, and helping people rebuild their lives.

Her involvement in Kenya began with that first mission trip in 2005. Over time, what started as a desire to help children affected by their mothers' incarceration developed into a comprehensive model designed to restore entire families.

Today, Jana leads BFFT's work in Kenya, working with the organization's staff, board, partners, donors, churches, universities, and volunteers to create sustainable opportunities for women and their children.

She divides her time between Texas and Kenya and speaks about faith, restoration, nonprofit leadership, women and children affected by incarceration, and what can happen when an ordinary decision to say yes becomes the beginning of something much larger.