While the rest of the world is focused on Kate Middleton‘s first wedding anniversary, I would like to direct your attention to another Kate-related event worthy of commemoration. Today, the Meet Kate foundation turns five.
When I was 19, I was busy trying to figure out how to get a fake ID. Kelly de Vries of the Netherlands, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how to provide opportunities for the children she met while volunteering for five months in Ghana.
Remember Meet Kate, the foundation dedicated to feeding, sheltering, and teaching the kids of Ghana? It’s run by 24-year-old Kelly de Vries and is named for 10-year-old cutie Kate? Well, Meet Kate has put together an awesome video about their organization. You should watch it (a) to see Kate, and her smile, in action (b) to meet the others involved in the foundation (c) to get inspired about the amount of change one person can inspire and (d) to hear the soundtrack, which includes one of my favorite songs from the band The Middle East. Anyone else wanting to go to Ghana now?
Read lots more about Meet Kate here. Or even better, find out how you can contribute by clicking here.
Readers, I’d like to introduce you to a very special fellow Kate. She is 10-years-old, lives in Ghana, and is a little too adorable for her own good. She also happens to be the face of Meet Kate, a foundation dedicated to providing kids in Ghana with food, shelter, education, and job opportunities.
Meet Kate is the brainchild of Kelly de Vries, a 24-year-old blonde from the Netherlands. (Interesting side note: she is the daughter of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who won an Emmy for his coverage of the Natalee Holloway disappearance a few years back.) In 2006, Kelly traveled to Ghana to volunteer for five months in an elementary school. While working at the school, Kelly lived with a host family who had several foster children. That is where she met Kate, then 4.
As Kelly writes, “Kate was the youngest member of the family, and was also the one with a pretty rough start in life. Her mother was only fifteen when Kate was born prematurely, after 6.5 months. Kate barely weighed a kilo and her chance of survival was slim. Because her mother couldn’t care for her, Kate grew up with a great-aunt. If it hadn’t been for her, Kate probably wouldn’t have survived. She now has a roof over her head, food on her plate and a school to go to everyday. Her smile and shining eyes show that she’s looking forward to the future.”
Got a Kate-
