Just a few short weeks until schools in America begin letting out for summer break (our preemptive apologies to our friends in the northern states who will be in session until mid-June). As we talked about our hopes for this summer at Canopy Life, one of the topics that came up over and over again is the idea of empathy. It’s something we hope our students in Kenya learn, and I bet it’s something you want for the kids in your life too!

Empathy starts with discovery and curiosity, but once it’s developed, Empathy leads to Compassion, Generosity, Service, and Social Action. We want to see these character qualities in students all over the world, not just our Canopy Life kids, so we created a site where U.S. students can DISCOVER more about children in Kenya and learn EMPATHY for others.

Use code “discoverempathy” for access.

The site introduces you and your family to our student Mercy and her friends. It includes: videos to DISCOVER more about her life at home, language, and food recipes. Mercy will teach your children how to wash their clothes by hand while her friend John shows them how to haul water. Then your kids can try it out for themselves! There’s also a place for your students to ask Mercy questions.

This site is user-friendly for kids (we don’t want to add to the parents workload), but there are discussion questions and conversations starters parents and mentors can use to maximize the empathy journey. If you like what you experience on this site, please feel free to pass it along to parents who are looking to engage their children in meaningful activities this summer.

Here’s to a great summer of curiosity, discovery, empathy, compassion, generosity, and action!