Rachel Sanson, originally from Cleveland, Ohio was born into a Christian family. Early in her teenage years she traveled to El Salvador on her first mission trip. The experience gave her a passion for the poor children of Latin America and she continued to visit El Salvador volunteering as an English teacher and caregiver for children in the Shalom Children’s Home. It was during that time that she witnessed the problem of Salvadoran families and felt a call to start a home where children could grow in a healthy family atmosphere.
While working in the municipality of Nejapa, she found children scavenging the local dump and decided that this is where the home would be started. On October 23, 2003 Love & Hope Children’s Home was officially formed. The home remained in Nejapa until September of 2010, when it relocated to Los Planes de Renderos, a town just outside the capital city of San Salvador. In 2013, Love & Hope moved again, this time to a location closer to the city center that better serves the needs of the home and the children living there.
Today, Love & Hope provides shelter, safety, guidance, and education to teens and young adults. Many of them have families that they are able to see regularly. We work to create healthy, happy relationships between the kids and their families.
OUR SUPPORT
In November of 2010, we formed AME International to handle all of our donations and affairs in the United States. The name “AME” is an abbreviation of sorts for Fundación Asociacion Amor y Esperanza, the NGO we established here in El Salvador. It is also the Spanish command form of “love”. We think it represents our purpose perfectly. All donations and sponsorships are processed through AME. They also head-up our fundraising and donor communications in the States.