HEAL: RAISING OUR WORLD, ONE CHILD AT A TIME

Jennifer Musick Wright is the “mum” to more than 45 children in Kenya.

It all started 10 years ago when she traveled to Kenya as a sophomore at Wagner College. Wright volunteered at a government-run orphanage that was severely understaffed. The children were not well cared for. “I knew it could be better for the children at the orphanage in Kenya, and it was this knowledge that inspired me to start my own children’s home,” Wright said. When she returned home from Kenya images of the orphanage haunted her. She started researching ways to raise money and formulated a plan. Seven months later, in 2007, she founded HEAL, a faith-based, not-for-profit organization committed to raising our world, one child at a time. “We recently celebrated our 10th anniversary,” she said. “It’s definitely been quite the journey, with many challenges, but I’ve learned so much, and I’m grateful for where we are, and the direction in which we’re moving.”