Carolina for Amani Kenya Internship

Dear friends and family, 

As some of you know, over the last year I have become involved with a club called Carolina for Amani at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Because of my passion and involvement with this amazing organization I have been offered the opportunity to travel to Kenya this summer as a part of the Amani Children's Foundation Internship! 

This internship will take place from May 11th-31st during which my fellow interns and I will work in three orphanages run by New Life Homes in Nairobi, Nakuru and Kisumu. I am so excited to be able to experience Kenyan culture, learn about global healthcare and, of course, play a small role in the lives of the children Amani impacts. Getting to know these kids will be the highlight of my time there! 

Carolina for Amani is a branch of the larger Amani Children's Foundation based out of Winston-Salem, NC. The non-profit organization (501 (c)(3)) was founded by Drs. Jane and Chad Stephens who, after working in Kenya for over 30 years, recognized a significant need for support for New Life Homes, an organization which has rescued over 1200 infants since 1993. Some of these orphans are HIV-positive or have specialized medical needs. Amani now provides over 60% of New Life Homes financial support and the role that interns play is another invaluable source of aid the foundation provides. 


What does the club do?

Every Wednesday night over the past year my friends and I have gathered to craft hand-made jewelry which we sell at bead shows once a month. Because Amani is a non-profit, 100% of the proceeds go directly to the medical needs of the New Life Homes orphans awaiting adoption.  

The beads that we use are handmade from clay from Mount Kenya and donated to our organization every summer by a company called Kazuri, which manufactures the beads outside of Nairobi. Kazuri employs women, primarily single-mothers, and provides healthcare for their workers and immediate family members. From start to finish, Amani is a sustainable, impactful organization that supports a great cause. 


My role as intern

My most important responsibility while working in the homes will be organizing/authoring updates to children's adoption files. There is a great need for this service as there is often a lack of reliable access to technology. Many of the children's files are hand-written on notecards and not categorized. My team's objective is to update the online database in which all the orphan's files are kept by cataloging any number of documents including birth certificates, case summaries, police reports, developmental timelines and personality assessments. We also will write "baby-blurbs" about each child in the homes, describing their likes, dislikes and personalities for prospective sponsors or adoptive parents.

The work I will do as an intern will have a lasting impact. 

The adoption files are essential in raising support from sponsors and matching babies with their "forever homes." When a child is adopted, all he/she has to reflect on what they were like as a child is the file that New Life Homes gives their adoptive parents. Likewise, all the information new adoptive parents know about their child comes from the files. Most of us take for granted the amount of information we have available to us though the American healthcare and legal system. These children would not have access to important information about their own backgrounds without the work of New Life Homes and Amani interns. 

Your contribution in this work matters. 


Below is a rough estimate of my travel costs. Again, because Amani is a non-profit and ALL money raised is sent directly to New Life Homes, interns are responsible for raising their own funds. Thus, if you would like to donate to help fund this incredible experience and the work I will be doing it would mean the world! Thank you for taking the time to read and learn about the Amani Children's Foundation and the internship! 

Internship Costs

Internship Fee (lodging and transportation): $1250
Airfare:                                                                                $900
Security Deposit:                                                           $150
Visa:                                                                                      $40
Food ($15/day for 21 days):                                    $315
Emergency Costs:                                                         $100
Other miscellaneous expenses:                             $100
Total:                                                                                     $2855

More information:

I have provided links to the websites of the Amani Children's Foundation, the New Life Home Trust and Kazuri Beads. If you are not interested in helping to fund this internship and my work, I encourage you to please consider contributing to the Amani Children's Foundation or to New Life Homes directly. 

Amani Children's Foundation:  
http://www.amanichildren.org/ 
New Life Home Trust: 
http://www.newlifehometrust.org/ 
Kazuri Beads: 
http://www.kazuri.com/#!/pageGallery 

You may also follow Carolina for Amani or New Life Homes on Instagram and show support for these impactful organizations. 

Carolina for Amani: carolinaforamani
New Life Homes: newlifehomeke

If you have question about the internship/foundation or if you would like to learn more about sponsoring a child please feel free to contact me! 

Lastly, please share this post to spread awareness for both my campaign and the missions of New Life Homes and the Amani Children's Foundation. 

Thank you again, 

Megan