Take a moment to read this piece I wrote for the VICDA website about my dear friend and inspiration, Annie Copley. I first met Annie in Nairobi in 2006 and had the pleasure of reconnecting with her back in Kenya in 2009. Since her first volunteer stint with VICDA Annie has raised over $100,000 to [...]
Most of you who either know me personally or who have read this blog for a while know about my connection with Kenya. Seven years ago I left my marketing job, packed my bags and journeyed to Nairobi where I volunteered with VICDA for the better half of a year. Since that time I've stayed [...]
I just did a write up about Hidden Baby on the VICDA website and wanted to share it with all of my readers. This is an admirable project to support a truly remarkable program. I’ve had the honor of visiting Happy Life several times and am so impressed with the work that is done there!
The mission of Hidden Baby is simple. They believe that “fashion should be about creating beauty and social change. Every Hidden Baby product has a baby hidden within the design to represent babies hidden from society’s sight.” A portion of the profits from all Hidden Baby sales is, then, donated to an organization that helps abandoned and forgotten children around the world. The Hidden Baby story is one of sisters coming together and merging their talents to create a fashion line that isn’t only unique and beautiful, but also sheds light on real life Hidden Babies. Founders Kelsey the artist and Courtney the activist, the sisters behind the line, were first inspired after visiting Happy Life Orphanage, in Kenya.
.
Happy Life Children’s Home is an orphanage located on the outskirts of Nairobi. VICDA has been supporting this incredible project for several years by placing GVN Volunteers at the project…
View original post 232 more words
As many of you know, I'm involved with VICDA, an organization in Kenya that I first volunteered with in 2006. Irene, VICDA's founder and executive directory, and I have worked together to plan a new volunteer opportunity - the Voluntourism Trip! This trip is designed for travelers who may not have a lot of time, [...]
A few months back, my Aunt Jan told me about this documentary and I put it in my Netflix queue. Since then, I'd forgotten about it until it arrived last week. A Small Act tells the true story of a Kenyan man named Chris and the woman in Sweden, Hilde, who sponsored his education through [...]
Very exciting news recently arrived from Kenya... The long awaited Medical Center at Giwa Farm has finally broken ground! Please read Irene's account to learn more about the joyous day and to see a few photographs. Giwa Farm is home to about 3,500 IDP's (Internally Displaced People) near Rongai, Kenya who were resettled last year [...]
VICDA's Fearless Leader - Irene Wairimu Ngatia I've been really excited lately. I'm talking seven-years-old on Christmas morning excited. As you can gather from previous posts, I'm heading back to Kenya at the end of August for a couple of months and this time I'm bringing a group of friends from Chicago along with me. [...]
Jenn Winter 