Our Team
Jane Nanzala Wasike
Chief Executive Officer, Life4Kids Children's Home in Nairobi, Kenya.
Education: Bachelor's degree in social-work
I have worked at Life4Kids since 2011. I met the founder of Life4Kid, Amelie Sorensen, in 2009 when she visited my former place of work; a large orphanage in Mathare slum. Amelie had just arrived in Kenya and was running a feeding program for the street-boys in the surrounding slums of Nairobi. I saved her telephone number for a reason: She told me she had a dream of starting her own children’s home. At the time, I had a wish to further my studies but my then employer decided to not allow me to continue my studies in Social work, whilst I simultaneously worked for her organization. I soon after left that job and went back to school.
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Here’s a message from our Chair, Fred Hacker:
It’s an honour to work with Life4Kids. There are few more rewarding activities than to be part of an organization that is giving hope, love, and a future to abandoned boys in Nairobi.
We are so fortunate to have a devoted Chief Executive Officer in Jane Wasike. Jane and her staff show love and support to the boys while ensuring that they are devoted to their studies and to their advancement in life.
It is a pleasure to work with our excellent Canadian Board of Directors. We have a small group of very devoted individuals who oversee fund raising for the support of the home in Nairobi.
I am also honoured to serve on the Advisory Committee which advises the Board of Directors in Kenya with the administration of the home.
While we have many generous supporters for Life4Kids, it is an ongoing struggle to ensure that adequate funds are available for the operation of the home. We have increased the number of boys in the home. Education costs mount as the boys progress through school. Consumer prices in Nairobi are escalating. So, may I ask you to consider making a personal pledge of support. What Life4Kids needs is a constant stream of funding. If you could provide a sum every month (whether it be $20 or $100 or whatever you can contribute), that would allow us to provide the consistent support that is needed.
Please complete and return the pledge form as soon as possible. Or donate through the “Donate” button on this web site. Thanks for all you do for the boys at Life4Kids.
Fred Hacker, Chair, Life4Kids Canada
Our Founder, Amelie Sorensen
I have a background in teaching and religious studies. I visited Kenya for the first time for a period of 9 months in 2008. At the time, I stayed in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Nairobi. It’s called Donholm/ Embakasi. It’s an area where 60% of all of Nairobi’s lower-class population lives. There are many slums in near proximity. The streets are heavily congested with street-children, from orphans to abused runaways, who can be seen begging for food or digging through garbage as they try to survive living on the dangerous streets of Nairobi.
Back in Canada, I sold my home and many of my belongings to finance the purchase of a home for boys and returned to Nairobi shortly after Christmas of 2009. The home was started in May 2010 on Mother’s Day, when the first child, named Jackson, was given a new home and a new family at the Life4Kids children’s home.
Today we continue the mission of providing ’A Place to Call Home for the Forgotten Children’.
You can read more about Our Story here.
Amelie Sorensen, Founder Life4Kids