Parties & Celebrations
Infinite Family
Everyone in life deserves a chance, especially children. I joined Infinite Family as a Global Ambassador so I could play a role in the lives of some of the South African teens orphaned by HIV/Aids and poverty.
Can you imagine growing up with no parents? No one to love you, to guide, to tell you what to do, to instill the confidences in you that allowed you to become who you are today? Can you imagine not having anyone make you go to school and get an education? Can you imagine not having access to a computer or learning computer skills? HIV, Aids and poverty have orphaned millions of children in South Africa. There are almost 55 million children across the African continent orphaned by the devastating horrors.
Meet my friend, Amy Stokes, the first CNN Hero of 2011. As with so many, it’s a personal story that caused us to take action. When Amy adopted a young South African boy she was so moved by the desperation of so many other children, she started Infinite Family, a mentoring program that connects teens with mentors for 30 minutes a week via a web-based platform. Each day after school until 6pm, the children involved in the program race with excitement to a computer lab where they are connected with their net-buddy. The lab is positioned adjacent to the school in what is basically a shipping container housing computer stations which are connected to the internet via satellite.
Imagine having someone to count on each week, someone to talk to not just about homework, but a friend and a confidant to rely on, week after week! In addition the children are learning reading, writing and computer skills which improves their English in preparation for future employment, adulthood, parenting and hopefully a future community leader.
Having met several of these children, I was impressed to hear their messages of hope and see their faces light up when they described the relationships they’ve fostered with their mentors. The model is easily scalable and our goal is to replicate the success in South Africa across the rest of Africa and around the world.
The special advantage about Infinite Family is that if you don’t have the ability to donate money, you can hopefully find the time to mentor a kid on a weekly basis. It’s a 30-minute weekly commitment to be a mentor who makes all the difference in the world. Most of the current mentors live in the US and Europe but they can literally be anywhere in the world.
Please help me help these children. Together we can make a difference. To make a contribution or get involved with Infinite Family, visit us online at InfiniteFamily.org.
As always, there's more to come!
