“My heart tends to direct my head…and I wanted to work in a field
I could be passionate about.”
Four months ago I sat at my dad’s desk in Mobile, Alabama, my broken knee propped up on a chair as I scoured the internet for “orphan care nonprofits in Fargo, North Dakota.” My passion for nonprofits and orphaned children began in high school. Working in this field wasn’t something I planned, but my heart tends to direct my head. I am a feeler and a doer, and I wanted to work in a field that I could be passionate about. This desire led me to seek out an internship and volunteer opportunities with a nonprofit that would allow me to do something, anything that might make a difference for parentless children.
This pursuit combined with a lot of prayers paid off, and I landed an internship in Nashville with a nonprofit I loved that had an international orphan program. This position led to a job, and I felt I had found the perfect field for my heart and my head.
Still, there is more to life than career, and my feeling/doing personality has often led to me to embark on unplanned adventures. My best friend’s persistent advice finally spurred me to meet her idea of “the perfect guy for me,” even though he lived 1500 miles away. It turns out she was right. Fast forward a few months, many plane rides and car drives later, and I found myself back in my dad’s office in Mobile making plans to move to the North. Little did I know what else I would find in his hometown.
If you google “orphan nonprofit Fargo, ND” African Soul, American Heart (ASAH) appears at the top of the search. After visiting the website and reading about ASAH’s mission to Protect, Educate, and Empower orphaned girls in South Sudan I thought – Wow this would be perfect! I would love to work with this group. Only half expecting a reply, I sent a blind email through the website. After all, my cover letter stating that I am an Alabama native moving to the area within the next month hoping to work for them may have sounded a little bizarre. It isn’t like they were advertising to hire anyone.
To my surprise, I received a reply the very next day. Thankfully my timing was perfect as ASAH was rapidly growing and in desperate need of more manpower than the volunteer-based board of directors could handle on their own. After many phone calls and emails, ASAH’s founder, Deb Dawson, and I worked out a plan for me to help her further the mission of ASAH. I arrived in Fargo Labor Day weekend after a 26-hour drive and jumped right into the work.
It has been three months since I began as Executive Assistant and Bookkeeper at African Soul, American Heart, and I couldn’t be more thankful that google landed me here. As I have had the opportunity to read countless stories, view hundreds of photos, and watch videos of the girls at the ASAH School my heart has grown to care about each of them. ASAH is changing the lives of orphaned girls who would face a life of illiteracy and poverty without our help. And I’m thankful that I have I have the opportunity to play a part in empowering the ASAH girls to change their world for the better.
African Soul, American Heart 