Margaret Ogola

Margaret Atieno Ogola was born on June 12, 1958, in Asembo, Siaya. Graduating in medicine and pediatrics from the University of Nairobi, she served as medical director of the Cottolengo Hospice for HIV/AIDS orphans, dedicating her life to caring for vulnerable children.

In 1994, Ogola published her monumental novel The River and the Source, an epic saga following four generations of resilient Kenyan women from traditional pre-colonial Luo society to modern urban Nairobi. The book won both the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Africa Region) and the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, becoming a mandatory secondary school curriculum text studied by millions of students.