Dallas Program Helps Kids With Jailed Parents - cbs11tv.com:
The term 'Amachi' is a Nigerian word meaning 'who knows what God has brought us through this child.' It's also the mantra and name of a newly adopted mentorship program by the Dallas Bar Association.
The program pairs Dallas attorneys with children whose parents are serving time in jail and aims to change young lives.
Eight year old Déjà and attorney Katie Bandy are strangers bounded by a newfound friendship."
"We go to the flight museum and to the restaurants," Déjà said of her mentor and the special connection they share.
"The best thing that we've done is getting to meet each other," Déjà said. Bandy is Déjà's mentor, friend and positive role model.
"It's just great to be able to expose someone else to a life I've really enjoyed," Bandy said.
It's the fundamental belief behind the Dallas Bar Association's involvement with Amachi. The program strives to support the needs of young children whose parents are absent, either serving time in jail or recently out of the system.
The term 'Amachi' is a Nigerian word meaning 'who knows what God has brought us through this child.' It's also the mantra and name of a newly adopted mentorship program by the Dallas Bar Association.
The program pairs Dallas attorneys with children whose parents are serving time in jail and aims to change young lives.
Eight year old Déjà and attorney Katie Bandy are strangers bounded by a newfound friendship."
"We go to the flight museum and to the restaurants," Déjà said of her mentor and the special connection they share.
"The best thing that we've done is getting to meet each other," Déjà said. Bandy is Déjà's mentor, friend and positive role model.
"It's just great to be able to expose someone else to a life I've really enjoyed," Bandy said.
It's the fundamental belief behind the Dallas Bar Association's involvement with Amachi. The program strives to support the needs of young children whose parents are absent, either serving time in jail or recently out of the system.
Amachi History
The word Amachi is a Nigerian word that means, “Who knows what God has brought us through this child?”
The Amachi program dates to 2001 and was the result of a collaborative think tank which included the University of Pennsylvania, Pew Charitable Trust, Public Private Ventures, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Then, as now, the mission was/is to break the intergenerational cycle of crime and incarceration and give a forgotten (invisible) group of children the chance to reach their highest potential.
Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr., a former two-term mayor of Philadelphia, took the mission to heart and implemented it successfully in Philadelphia and across the country.