Grace Laird

Grace Laird was born in a village called Meru in Kenya. Her parents were farmers.

Her father joined the army before the Second World War, was injured during the fighting and repatriated to the wrong country. When he got back to Kenya, he and Grace’s mother attended the Kaaga Church near their village which had been set up by Christian missionaries.

In this extract, Grace recalls her earliest memories of collecting water and wood from the bush, and being escorted to school because of the dangers of wild animals.

Kenya  1.55′

Grace left school at 18 and moved to Nairobi to work in a shop. In 1981 she joined the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and met her husband Paul. They were married in the UK, later returning to Kenya and working in Cameroon before settling in the UK.

After moving to Oxford, Grace found Wesley Memorial and was immediately drawn to it. Straight away her daughter Miriam joined in with the other children and this made Grace feel very comfortable. In this extract, Grace explains how she got involved with various church groups and describes Wesley Mem as, for her, ‘the place to be’.

Wesley Memorial  1.23′

Grace became a church steward at Wesley Memorial. She trained in childcare at Oxford Brookes, and later changed to working with older people for Age UK. She believes that her work in the community, caring for the most vulnerable people in Society, is part of her Christian faith.

Faith in the Community  1.18′