Atlanta family raises $40,000 for Kenya’s kids

More than 25,000 children in poor areas of the world die each day from preventable causes, such as poor hygiene or lack of food.

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Compassion International

Emily Blake walks hand in hand with 2-year-old Edith Murkiri in Kenya, who participates in an early childhood health program that Emily helped raise $40,000 for. Emily’s parents, Stephanie and Kirk Von Rosenberg watch.

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Compassion International

Emily Blake and her mother Stephane Von Rosenberg watch in Ciamugo, Kenya, as a nurse prepares to weigh an infant in a center where mothers receive healthcare, hygiene and nutrition instruction. Emily and her family rasied $40,000 to help start the village program.

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That fact stuck in then 12-year-old Emily Blake’s mind when she heard it at a church summer camp in 2007.

The speaker encouraged Emily, 14, and others to do more than be good. Do something great, something that God would be proud of, Emily remembers him saying.

For her, saving poor children’s lives would be that thing.

“I just couldn’t get it out of my mind,” Emily said.

Fifty to 100 Kenyan kids will live healthier this year, thanks to her stubborn idealism. She and her family raised more than $40,000 to sponsor an early childhood and new-mother wellness and education program through Compassion International in Colorado Springs, Colo. It is a faith-based relief organization with the highest rating from Charity Navigator, a U.S. watchdog for nonprofits. “What she helped raise will cover this project for about 20 months,” said Mark Hanlon, the organization’s senior vice president.

When Emily and her family called to inquire about a sponsorship, they hoped their church, First Baptist of Alpharetta, would take it up. But the church had already committed to other projects, Emily said.

Stephanie Von Rosenberg, Emily’s mother, said they decided to take it on as a family, despite trepidation about the $25,000 price tag for a year’s operating costs. They organized a concert with local bands at their church, a bowl-a-thon, car washes and made individual pleas to family and friends.

After six months, they had about $12,000.

“At that point, we were like, ‘What do we do now?’ Because you can only ask your friends for money so many times,” Emily said.

That is when the phone call came.

An anonymous donor heard about Emily’s efforts last year and offered $30,000 to finish the fund-raising.

Hanlon was surprised by the amount the family raised, with Emily’s inspiration.

“Young people are wonderful, because they don’t know that they can’t do it,” he said. “They haven’t become jaded by life.”

Compassion International helped the family set up a trip in March to the sponsored village, Ciamugo. The family paid their transportation costs.

“When we got there, 75 mothers came running out singing and dancing. It was crazy,” Emily said.

And it has changed her life. She is interested in pursuing a career in the medical field.

“Now, I am thinking of being a missionary doctor or missionary nurse,” she said.