My name is Chinyelu Mwaafrika, and I am 16 years old. I grew up in the Kheprw Institute (KI) family. My father was a key members of the organization and as a child I would tag along when he went to meetings. After a while I started to participate in those meetings. My participation grew from there.
I participated in a youth panel at the age of seven, became a photographer at 8, and a public speaker by nine. Before I was even 10 years old, I had taught high school students almost a decade older than me about aquaponics and was even featured in the local paper. A few years later, my father and a few other local parents launched the KI Community School. I attended for my middle school years and flourished.
After my last year of middle school, I left the KI Community School but not the institute itself. Instead, I officially became a Kheprw Institute intern. That meant I had a schedule and tasks. KI is a place for opportunity. KI turned a young person who initially just came for fun into a web developer and public speaker.
KI is all about self mastery. I have spent at least a year in each of our initiatives, learning and growing with my fellow interns. I started out in Urban Agriculture working with our community garden and now I work in the Technology branch. I've edited different movies and short films for clients, gone out to shoot footage of events, and even built entire websites. I am now able to teach our newer interns how to work in each of these initiatives.
Now along with interning, I work for Scarabys consulting, one of Kheprw's various offshoots. I enjoy my work. KI has provided a plethora of opportunities, from being featured in local papers to getting the opportunity to drive out to Washington DC for a video competition. I have improved my critical thinking, public speaking and social skills just from my participation with this organization. And this is why I give to the Kheprw Institute.
Review from #MyGivingStory