- My next guest, when she was 14,
she took a life-changing trip to an orphanage in Kenya.
She immediately felt a deep connection
to the kids and the nation.
So she launched, at 14,
a nonprofit to share her love of ballet and the arts
with children who lived half a world away.
She knows what it is to be the difference.
♪ Be the difference ♪
All right, everybody from Ngoma Kenya,
please say hi to Sophia Andrews.
- Hi!
- Hello!
- Hi, Kelly!
- You are, first of all,
let me just say how remarkable you are.
God, to start something like that at 14 is incredible.
- Thank you.
- And it says a lot about your character and your heart
and your soul, so that,
you already had a leg up there at 14.
So tell us about that first Kenya trip.
- Yeah, when I was 14 years old, I had the opportunity
to travel to Kenya with a group
to visit Happy Life Children's Home,
where I sponsored a little girl named Esther,
and stepping onto Kenyan soil for the first time
was just life changing,
especially as a Black American,
having never traveled to Africa before.
And so while I was there,
I got to meet Esther for the first time
and all of her friends that lived with her,
and I got to help them prepare their meals
and do chores around the home with the staff.
And I found out that they had a love of ballet and music
just like me, so I decided,
why not teach a short little ballet class to the kids,
and they absolutely loved it.
And unfortunately, in Kenya, they do struggle
with a culture of abandonment where mothers will often
give up their babies, which is how a lot of these children
ended up at the children's home.
And so, hearing their stories touched me deeply,
and I knew I couldn't leave that experience on the plane.
I just, I wanted to do more.
- I mean you, and also while you're saying that,
you have also the most beautiful smile.
It is so welcoming and warm.
I have to say that.
I was like, all the things you're saying are so beautiful,
and I'm like, and it's coming from
such a beautiful light and spirit.
You actually started raising money
for the kids as well, right?
- Yes. When I got back from that first trip,
I decided to do a fundraiser to help the children's home
with their sixth grade class.
And we needed to raise books and we, like,
tripled the amount of money needed in like 24 hours.
And so, I decided to do another fundraiser in 2017
because I wanted to go back and teach ballet.
And so, I got donations and received ballet shoes
and traveled to Kenya with my mom for two weeks
to teach ballet.
And it started off a little bit chaotic in a small room.
It was pretty crowded, and the kids loved the dance classes.
And I think that it was just a great way
for them to have that after class.
And we did it during class breaks, on the weekends,
whenever they could squeeze in a ballet class,
we would do it.
And that's how the non-profit and Ngoma Kenya got its start.
And in Kenya, they speak Swahili.
So Ngoma means to dance and to sing.
- Aw, that's beautiful.
Well, Ngoma Kenya has really grown
since you started it, right?
- It has, it's grown so much.
So, I've had to structure it in a way
where I can support it here in the States.
I started it as a freshman in high school,
and now I'm a freshmen in college,
studying international relations.
And so, I have a board of directors,
a youth advisory committee,
and a team that just deals with all the day-to-day work.
And even though it started with just ballet,
we've incorporated all aspects of the arts.
And so, now we focus on three main things,
which are orphan care,
advocacy of arts education and girls' rights.
So, the local Kenyan community has been so supportive
of this work and keeping things running while I'm not there.
And while I'm here in the States, I fundraise,
so that way, when I go back to Kenya,
I can take stuff with me, and I've been
about nine or 10 times now.
I've kind of lost count, but before COVID,
I've tried to go as often as I can.
- Well, how, speaking of COVID,
how has the pandemic kind of affected everything?
- Yeah, things were getting really exciting
before COVID hit, and then shutdowns happened
throughout the country,
so we had to put a pause on the dance lessons,
and I reached out to a team member,
and he told me about just how bad things had been
on the ground, so we decided we wanted to help
not just the children, but the surrounding community.
So we launched a feeding program
that ran from March all the way into July.
And during that time,
we were able to supply community members,
some of them that hadn't even eaten in two to three days,
and so, not only do we supply them with food,
but we went back with sanitary supplies for the girls
and masks and just all those different things.
So, once the pandemic passes, we're excited
to get back into the swing of things and get classes going.
- Yeah, it's an amazing thing to have that distraction,
that beautiful kind of art that takes them away.
But that's a real perspective that you're given, as well,
like, walking into that situation.
Sophia, how have you seen the kids change through the arts?
- I always say that not every child is going to grow up
to become a professional ballerina or a musician,
but I understand the importance
that the arts have on them now.
And it's a great way for them to build friendships.
And I've seen them grow over the years,
and they're just having so much fun, which is important
for kids who have been through so much in their young lives
and dealt with so much trauma and abandonment.
And one little girl in particular,
whose name is Faith, has grown a lot in the classes.
And I've just seen her love for ballet,
and every time I visit she'll show me a new move
or she'll tell me about how she saw
this ballerina on TV
is like Misty Copeland and Michaela DePrince.
And so it's a space for the kids to just decompress,
forget about everything going on in the world
and have fun through dance
and feel like they're part of something bigger.
- Absolutely. It's even like, I mean,
I was never going to be a professional any kind of athlete,
but I loved playing and I thought that it taught,
you know, team spirit and, you know,
being a part of something bigger than just you,
and also the discipline to train for something.
And then just feeling of being able to, you know,
actually follow through and do it.
So I think all of that's very true for dancing as well.
So, you have a great team,
and they actually wanted to let you know
just how special you are to them and the kids.
So, they sent us this video.
You want to see it?
- Yes!
- All right, here we go.
(speaking foreign language)
- How are you? Hope you're doing well.
- We would just love to see much we love you.
Thank you for choosing to change the lives
of the children out here in Kenya.
- You've given them the opportunity to dream,
the chance to follow those dreams.
You've given them hope.
You've given them joy.
- [Woman] They love you. They miss you.
- We, as the young people, we,
as the leaders of Ngoma Kenya,
we really appreciate you so very much.
- For being a young lady that is motivated
to help the people who are in need.
- We love you and God bless you. Kisses.
- Oh my goodness.
- Got you send mwah, kisses. I love him.
How does that make you feel, hearing that?
That's a cool impact.
- That makes me feel so good.
Ah, man, I haven't been able to go back to Kenya,
so seeing their faces, it just makes me so happy.
It's gonna make me cry.
I miss them also much, so, oh my goodness.
Thank you.
- Well, no, that was all you, girl.
You're the one that they wanted to do that for.
But that's actually not our only surprise.
We have someone here who's heard all about Sophia's work
and wants to meet her.
So I'm talking about Misty Copeland.
Come on in here.
- Oh my!
- [Kelly] Meet Sophia.
- Hi, Misty!
- I'm over here crying.
I just, it's so powerful, what you're doing,
and I completely can relate to everything
that you've worked for and the impact
that it's having on so many lives.
I've, I'm so proud of you.
I've spent time in Rwanda
through a similar program called MindLeaps,
and working with street kids and abandoned kids,
and showing them that art can give you so many skills,
and it, like you said,
it's not just about becoming a professional dancer,
but teaching you social skills and your cognitive skills,
and I'm just so unbelievably impressed
with your ability to see beyond you and beyond, you know,
maybe what you wanted to do as a dancer.
But you're impacting, it's so much bigger than you,
and you're impacting so many lives.
I hope I can travel with you one day
and meet all of the kids.
- Sophia, how does that make you feel?
- Oh, I'm going to cry.
Like, you're my hero.
Like, you don't understand how happy this makes me,
like, getting to talk to you.
And your words of encouragement just mean everything to me.
I so appreciate it, and the kids love you.
They know who you are,
and we'd love to have you teach them ballet one day.
- I would love that.
- Well, Sophia, how do you hope to expand
your program in the future?
- Yes, our goal is to bring dance all throughout Kenya,
and I'd love to create a performing arts center
so that way kids can not only have access to the arts,
but we can also meet any other basic needs,
and eventually we'd love to take a group on tour
throughout Kenya and the States.
And we're getting closer to that goal every day.
And I want to move to Kenya after I graduate college
to continue this work.
- Oh, that's amazing.
And, I know it's like, I love how big
you've been dreaming since you were 14.
I cannot wait to see what you do with the rest of your life.
I'm just going to sit back and watch, or help.
You just let me know.
But good news, we actually reached out to our friends
at Canva, a free online platform that makes it super easy
to design and collaborate.
Whether you're a nonprofit, a teacher, a student,
or any size business,
you can create a free account and use Canva's
design templates to create social media graphics,
presentations, t-shirts, videos and more.
To help you realize your dream
of bringing ballet to children in Kenya,
they are hooking you up with a Canva account
for nonprofits and donating $25,000 to help with that.
How do you feel about that?
- Oh my, we make all our graphics through Canva.
Like, I'm going to cry.
Oh my goodness, thank you so much, thank you.
- Absolutely. You are a fantastic human.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Thank you so much for what you do for others.
You as well, Misty.
Thank you guys.
This has been a privilege to have you both on the show.
I cannot wait to see you on the show next.
See what you've been doing.
- Thank you. - [Kelly] Changing the world.