By Julia Cooper

courtesy of katherine lynch Above, Katherine Lynch, 16, (center left) gets her hair braided by, clockwise from top, Caroline, 12, Robert, 12, while Irene, 5, provides moral support.

Katherine Lynch enjoys hanging out with friends, exploring new places and staying active like any 16-year-old. But the Los Altos High School senior has another passion: helping the world’s children, one at a time.

Lynch traveled to Kenya this summer to teach English at By Grace Disabled and Orphans Centre in Nairobi, the country’s capital. She said seeing Kenya’s dilapidated tin-roofed shacks and trash-strewn streets provided both an immediate culture shock and a wake-up call.

“I think my entire drive in just left me with my mouth hanging open,” Lynch said. “I guess I had been naïve before, because I always wanted to grow up and save the world, and then I started driving through Kenya and I just saw how hard that would be.”

Lynch said playing with the orphans inspired her because she witnessed endless energy and ambition, with many waiting for sponsorship to attend college. But the sad tales of the kids’ lives could be overwhelming, she said.

“They were kids and you would play with them and everything was fine until you would remember that, in fact, these kids are orphans and they have been beaten and they’ve seen their parents die and they have all these horrible stories - but they’re still kids and they still play,” Lynch said. “I think that was just a little shock that got me every once in awhile and it would kind of just bring a tear to my eye, and I would have to wipe it away and keep playing with them.”

Humanitarian efforts interested Lynch early in life, yet she said she soon realized the important but limited impact she could make.

“You can’t really set yourself on wiping out malaria, or poverty in general, because it’s too big,” Lynch said. “I think what I’m learning is that personal connection is the most important thing.”

Despite recognizing her limited power, Lynch continues trying to raise awareness of children’s needs on a local level. She started a humanitarian club at her school, a branch of the Student Campaign for Child Survival. Lynch plans to graduate in 2007, head to college to major in anthropology, study abroad, join the Peace Corps and eventually work in international development.

With big plans in the works, Lynch said she knows she can’t save the world. But that hasn’t stopped her from trying.

“My goal is to just get something done and to make real change somewhere for somebody,” Lynch said. “As big or small as that ends up being.”

For more information about By Grace, visit www.bygracecentre.org. For more information about the Student Campaign for Child Survival, visit www.supportchildsurvival.org.