Hamomi Children’s Centre’s Fourth Annual Dinner and Auction
Claire Lewis and Stephanie Pure represented Northeastern- Seattle at the Hamomi Children’s Centre’s Fourth Annual Dinner and Auction held at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on February 2nd. Packed with 400 friends and supporters of the organization, it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Hamomi and support our three Northeastern co-op students and international affairs majors, Anna Bornstein (who created this co-op opportunity in 2012), Shivangi Shah and Sarah Whetstone, who all flew out from Boston to help make the night a huge success!
Hamomi Children’s Centre is a nonprofit organization located in Nairobi, Kenya. Hamomi, a localized word meaning “harmony,” was founded in 1999 and functions as a primary school and center for children in the Kangemi slum. Over the years, Hamomi Children’s Centre has become more than just a school. Hamomi believes in order for children to get the most out of an education, their basic needs must first be met. This is why Hamomi also provides its students with basic needs such as food, clothing, and placement with guardians.
The program featured performances by the children of the MLK Community Center, an array of local and African auction items, and a traditional Kenyan family-style dinner were an unforgettable part of the evening; however, the highlight of the evening was learning that of Hamomi’s graduating 8th grade class, ALL the students passed the required exams necessary to enter high school.
Another great moment of the evening was when Hamomi USA Executive Director Susie Marks recognized the hard work and dedication of the Northeastern co-ops who were boarding a red-eye flight the next day in order to be back for class in Boston on Monday morning. Our table captain, Kathy Fisher, Hamomi volunteer and supporter has attended each annual event and remarked that “The co-op students have been invaluable to [the event’s] success.” Hamomi USA has worked tirelessly over the past four years in order to help the Hamomi school in Nairobi become self-sustainable. Hopefully Northeastern co-ops will continue to be a part of this amazing organization and beautiful vision for the future!
To learn more about how a Northeastern co-op student can make a difference in your organization, visit www.northeastern.edu/centralcoop/
Or contact Stephanie Pure: [email protected] | (206) 467-5484.
Want to learn more about Hamomi? http://hamomi.org/