The Amani Blog
Fashion Show Meeting Time! 9 Feb 2009
Hello friends and advocates of the Amani Life Project!
So, as you may have guessed we have an exciting fundraiser coming to town. We’re doing a prom dress fashion show (and I hear rumors that other articles of clothing may be sneaking into the fashion show also) later in March, which is about a month and a half away! In order to get everything planned in time, we must meet and discuss and talk and plan. The meeting is being held tomorrow night at Katie’s house at 7pm. For directions or more details, please email me at amanilifeproject@gmail.com and I’ll be glad to help you out!
Please, please join us if you can! We need all the help we can get, and we promise to get you out of there before American Idol!
Love, Whit
Story from Bo 30 Jan 2009
Here’s a story that keeps me up at night.
March 10, 2008
When friends from our home church returned from Africa after adopting two teenage girls, they reported having seen several men hanging around the orphanage gates. A social worker at the orphanage told them the men are predators who wait for the young girls to be released from the orphanage when they age out, which could be anywhere from age 15 to 18 depending on space in the orphanage. This is the beginning of the pipeline for approximately half of the supply of children for human trafficking and the sex slave trade.The director of a well known American adoption agency, told me that he has personally witnessed the predators at the gates of European orphanages, already armed with the names of the girls and the dates they are scheduled to be released.
A pastor who adopted from Russia reported observing two fancy black limousines arriving at the orphanage while he was there. The finely dressed men had come to pick up a strikingly beautiful teenage girl from the orphanage. He couldn’t help but wonder why they would kiss the orphanage director as they left. Was it their thanksfor this incredibly valuable prize they had just been given? Millions of girls like her have been lured into sexual slavery with lucrative job offers from finely dressed men just like these.
So many people have given so sacrifically of their time, their love and their finances to care for these children for as long as 18 years. Its a shame that so many of them will go from the institution directly, shortly or even eventually into the waiting arms of predators and slave traders. But that’s exactly what happens to most orphans and foster children today if they are not adopted.
www.howtoadopt.org/TheGreatNeed/ Paragraph 5
Does this information surprise you? Make you frustrated? Angry? Passionate?
Perfect.
With Great Hope for Change,
Bo
And here’s a note from me, Whitney – there are more details coming very quickly for the newest Amani Fundraiser. Stay tuned, and until then, keep your heart beating for these brilliant children!
January- what a wonderful month! 23 Jan 2009
January has brought with it an event to capture attention here in Bend and let everyone know what Amani is all about. This event will be summarized by this awe-inspiring clip from The Office. Take it away, Kelly…
Stay tuned for more info!
Love, Whitney
Welcome! 29 Dec 2008
Hello!
Welcome to our blog – the place where all the new events and announcements will roll in. If you’re new here, the Amani Life Project is a non-profit organization that exists to send orphaned girls to college. Right now we are focusing on 2 girls out of the 152,000,000 orphans there are to choose from. One is Essy and she’s dreaming of becoming a doctor and the other is Judy, who is hoping to spread her wings and fly – literally – by becoming a pilot. While we want desperately to send these girls to college immediately, we refuse to let the teenage/young adult women of America just sit by and watch. We need them (YOU) to be involved in every way possible! So really, Amani exists for two reasons: those across the oceans in an orphanage, and those at the next table over in Starbucks. We want to make a huge difference in the world, and we want to do that by giving resources to the strongest girls we’ve ever known – and to the ones we have yet to meet. I hope you’ll join us in our effort to send these girls to college.
If you’d like more information, email me at amanilifeproject@gmail.com or see our website, amanilifeproject.com. Thank you!
Whitney
FAQ’s
1) Why doesn’t Amani send boys to college?
Less than 1% of orphans are ever able to attend college. A very small percentage of those are women. Girls transitioning out of orphanages or foster care are one of the most vulnerable and under resourced group of people on our planet. We’ve decided to focus on them, and are hoping to develop a similar project for boys in the future.
2) Does Amani do microfinance for small businesses (i.e. buy a cow) for women who don’t want to go to college.
No, but there are many organizations that do (in fact microfinance is such a big business trend in Africa, that we would love for some of our Amani Girls to pursue an education in microfinance administration.) We believe in the power of a college education or official vocational training to change the life of an orphaned child. It’s a big expense and some would argue that the money could buy smaller dreams for more girls. However, we strongly feel that our mission is to give these girls a chance to become ANYTHING they want to become.
3) Are my donations tax-deductible?
Yes! We operate under the fiscal sponsorship of the Furaha Foundation which is tax exempt under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Service.
4) How do you choose the Amani Girls?
We work with the best local organizations we can find in developing countries around the world. These are people we have personally met and deeply trust who are committed to helping transition an orphaned girl into a safe, secure grown-up life. These dedicated individuals and organizations are profoundly invested in the communities they serve and we are grateful for their willingness to walk these miraculous young women through the process of this life changing opportunity. They are also required to work closely with the Amani Girl’s mentor, so that we know that our goals are being achieved.
5) Does 100% of my money go to an orphan’s college fund?
Amani funds are used for the purpose of securing a college education for orphans and also for raising awareness in Americans. We are passionate about pleading their cause to those who can truly make a difference, and so we invest a small percentage of funds toward that purpose and toward the administration of this big mission.
