Black Teenager Builds Non-Profit Organization to Teach the Arts to Kenyan Orphans

Sophia Andrews Takes High School Graduation Pics With Children
Sophia Andrews Takes High School Graduation Pics With Children

Black Teenager Builds Non-Profit Organization to Teach the Arts to Kenyan Orphans

     At the age of 14, Sophia Andrews took a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, to work with abandoned children. Andrew’s said it was amazing how the door to take this trip was opened to her because she was already using money she had received from babysitting and other odd jobs to sponsor a child by the name of Ester.
     Little did she know at that time that taking the trip to Kenya would be the foundation of creating an organization, that has become a part of her life’s mission. “When I visited Kenya and spent time with the kids, I found out that many of them came to the children’s home after abandonment. However, through that adversity, they grew a love for the arts. I realize that as a performing artist, I had to do something. Even though I am just a teenager, I can make an effort to make a difference,” states Andrews. This revelation birthed in Andrew’s heart the need to start a non-profit organization to assist abandoned youth in Kenya by the name of Ngoma Kenya. Ngoma in Swahili means “Dance.”
     Andrews, now a Freshman at American University, majoring in International Studies, has been to Kenya multiple times, helping the children increase their self-esteem and life potential via the arts. “A few years ago, at the age of 16, I spent the entire summer in Kenya as a special education teacher assisting the school at Happy Life Children’s Home. I was able to help educate a select group of children and work the vision of Ngoma Kenya through dance classes. Teenagers can make a difference, and I hope that they know that and use what they are passionate about to make a change.”
     Ngoma-Kenya now has a US board of directors, a Kenya team, and a Youth Advisory Committee comprised of teens in the US and Kenya. “One of my hopes with creating this committee is to make this a youth-driven initiative where youth who want to make a difference can work collectively on best ways to support our work in Kenya and possibly beyond. We want to leverage their change-making skills to empower other youth to make a difference. We are well positioned to do great work in the lives of the over 350,000 abandoned youth in Kenya. It is truly my life’s mission and I have a great team in place to help.”
     “We love the work we are doing, and hope it inspire[s] other youth to care about orphaned and abandoned children in Africa. Youth can make a difference, if they can focus on using their lives to do so!”

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