The children we serve are rooted in Hope for a brighter future

Since 2005, Tree 4 Hope has been committed to helping the children of Hogar Miguel and Hope Academy in Guatemala be Rooted in Hope. Over the past almost 20 years, there have been countless examples of how we have helped Hope take root in these communities, but perhaps none is quite so powerful as the story of how Hope Academy started.

Back in 2019, Hope Academy Guatemala opened with 16 kindergarten aged girls who were told there was no space for them in the public school system. As we began the early work of educating these children, we started asking them that question you ask every child when they start school - "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Much to our surprise, each and every one of our kids said something to the effect of "well, I guess I could clean someone's house or cook for someone." While these two careers, house cleaning and cooking, are completely valid careers, when a whole class of girls thinks that those are their only options for work when they grow up, it highlights a problem that needs to be fixed.

So we began working with our students on expanding their horizons, on understanding all of the different career options they might explore with a strong educational foundation, and on exposing them to professionals working in fields ranging from food service to hotel management, from tourism to archaeology, from sciences to law, and everything in between. At the end of this past school year in mid-October, we asked many of our same kids again what they wanted to be when they grew up and the answers blew our minds! Over the next few weeks, they will tell you directly what they want to be when they grow up.

This holiday season, give the gift of Hope to the students of Hope Academy and to the kids of Hogar Miguel. Together, we have rooted these kids in Hope, together, we have created a space where their dreams can come true, and together, we can continue to be a beacon of hope for kids just like them for generations to come. Brighten their holiday season with a donation to Tree 4 Hope today.