Our Stories

Our Ambassador rallied her global following to raise more than $150,000 for a new 120-bed dormitory, expanding safe access to education for girls in Tanzania.

In June 2026, we welcomed our wonderful Ambassador, Camila Coelho, to Kenya and Tanzania. Camila joined our teams to walk through our education projects, spend time with the learners and families we partner with every day, and see, in person, the newly completed 120-bed girls’ dormitory that she and her global community helped make possible — raising more than $150,000 in support.

Why This Dormitory Matters

For many of the girls in our partner communities, simply staying in school comes with real, daily risk. A long, unsafe walk to and from school can expose a girl to gender-based violence. Without secure housing at school, girls are far more likely to drop out altogether — and that risk often leads straight to female genital cutting and child marriage.

A safe place to sleep changes that equation entirely. By giving girls somewhere secure to live right at their school, this new dormitory removes one of the biggest barriers standing between a girl and her education. We expect it to both retain and grow enrolment, and it’s a cornerstone of our Keeping Girls in School initiative — part of an Education Program that has already reached 55,000 children across 57 partner government schools in Kenya and Tanzania. Thanks to the generosity of Camila and her community, more than 120 girls now have a chance to stay in school and break the poverty cycle for good.

“Some of the Greatest Gifts in Life Come from Serving Others”

“This experience reminded me that some of the greatest gifts in life come from serving others,” Camila told us. “The work So They Can is doing is truly remarkable, and seeing the difference they’re making every single day was incredibly inspiring. Spending time with the children and contributing to a project that will have a lasting impact has changed me forever. I feel so grateful to have been part of it, and I hope to continue helping these beautiful communities for many years to come.” — Camila Coelho

Our Founder and CEO, Cassandra Treadwell, travelled alongside Camila for the visit and saw firsthand what it meant to her and our community.

“Having Camila with us on the ground in Africa meant a great deal to the girls and their wider community,” Cassandra said. “These girls, who refer to themselves as the ‘commercial property of men,’ find it hard to believe that people on the other side of the world care about them.

“She got to see, firsthand, exactly what her community’s generosity has achieved. The dormitory is not just a building — it represents safety, stability, and education that will end the poverty cycle for more than 120 girls and their next generations. Watching this impact be tangibly realised for Camila was deeply moving.”

A Journey Shared with Millions

Camila, who has more than 10 million followers across her social platforms, brought her entire community along for the journey, documenting it in real time. On her first day in Kenya, she told her followers the experience was “difficult to put into words,” writing that seeing “the hope, the smiles, and the opportunities being created is truly transformative.”

The most powerful moment of the trip, for us, was watching Camila step inside the dormitory her community had funded and see it come to life. She told her followers she hoped this would be the first of “many Camila’s dorms in East Africa,” and promised, “I will come back!!!”

We couldn’t agree more, Camila. From all of us at So They Can, and from every girl who will sleep safely in this dormitory tonight because of you and your community, thank you.

About So They Can

So They Can is a registered charity in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Tanzania, working to empower children living in poverty in East Africa through education. To date, we’ve empowered more than 55,000 children through education, in direct partnership with 57 government schools across Kenya and Tanzania, and supported more than 36,500 community members with access to vital life essentials. Learn more at sotheycan.org.

About Camila Coelho

Camila Coelho is a Brazilian-American fashion and beauty entrepreneur and content creator. A first-generation immigrant, she built a global following of more than 10 million across social media. She has been recognised by Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and named among Bloomberg Línea’s 100 most influential Latinos. Camila has served as a So They Can Ambassador, using her platform to raise awareness and funding for our Education and Community Development Programmes in East Africa.