Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)
In our ambition to please Him, we now express our vision for a venture far beyond anything we have dared to imagine in Him so far. We envision a university radiating the glory of God in a wide variety of spheres in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We know education, both lower and higher, to be an essential element in the development of any society, and here we speak of education founded in the knowledge of God and in the full riches of complete understanding, in order that many may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
(Col. 2:2–3).
Heidi Baker founded Iris Global in 1980 with her husband Rolland, and began ministering together in Asia. In 1995 they were called to the poorest country in the world at the time, Mozambique, and faced an extreme test of the Gospel. They began by pouring out their lives among abandoned street children, and as the Holy Spirit moved miraculously in many ways a revival movement spread to adults, pastors, churches and then throughout the bush all across Mozambique's ten provinces. Heidi is now 'Mama Heidi' to thousands of children, and oversees a broad holistic ministry that includes primary and secondary schools, Bible schools, medical clinics, church-based orphan care, well drilling, outreaches in remote villages, food aid and disaster relief, and a network of thousands of churches. She has BA, MA and PhD degrees, has authored four books, and travels the world as a conference speaker.
Zainabo is Mozambican and a native of Maputo. She moved to Pemba to seek the calling of God, serving in different areas of Iris Ministries: staff at the Harvest School of Missions, musician, director of Iris Theological College, and scholarship management. She also assists and leads students to participate in the Stanford International Institutes summer program in California in conjunction with Academic Bridges. She currently serves as a project manager and oversees academic records at Iris University (Pending Approval). Her main focus in life is to impact people in different areas of life, but mainly women, seeking to encourage them to have a voice and be heard and giving them space to express their feelings in order to receive their healing.
Ernesto is Mozambican and was born in Maputo. He moved to Pemba to serve in different areas at Iris Ministries. Currently, he works as an infrastructure supervisor at the future Iris University.
Nadia Benbernou left her tech job in late 2019 to help build a university in Mozambique, one of the poorest nations on the planet. She is a former senior software engineer and product manager at Google and has worked extensively on wearables and mobile payments. She has a Ph.D in applied mathematics from MIT. She loves Jesus with all of her heart, soul, mind and strength and is passionate to empower and equip people to walk in the fullness of who they are in Christ.
Adelia was born in Maputo, Mozambique. She grew up in the children’s center at Iris Ministries and she started working as a children’s educator there. She graduated in law from the Catholic University of Mozambique. She is currently working as an executive assistant at Iris University (Pending Approval).
Edmilsa was born in Maputo, Mozambique. She is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in accounting and auditing. She works as an admin at Iris University (Pending Approval) and helps out in the library to catalog books.
Ernesto Albino was born in Maputo and grew up in Iris Ministries. His first job was as a driver for the children's boarding school and he also worked in hospitality and as the head of maintenance. He graduated as a Customs Broker from the Technical Customs Institute of Mozambique. He takes care of all the facilities and infrastructure at the university.
Iris University Installation Committee
With the University Consultants