How We’ve Grown: Young Leaders

To celebrate Love & Hope’s 10th Anniversary, we’ve been taking a look back at where we started and sharing a few stories about some of our amazing kids. Today, we’d like to share two more.

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Brenda

Brenda arrived at Love & Hope Children’s Home when she was just four years old. Today, she’s a lively teenager at 14. Brenda consistently receives some of the highest grades in her class at school and excels in English. She loves to challenge herself by participating in English spelling bees, Bible competitions, reading non-stop, and now she wants to learn French. Brenda is what we would call a “social butterfly”; she always comes home from school eager to tell us about her friends, and she loves interacting with visitors that come to Love & Hope. Just recently, Brenda has demonstrated her talent outside the academic arena by earning first place in a Tae Kwon Do competition!

Brenda says that one day she would like to learn and teach law so that she can help others. She would also like to teach Sunday school and pursue a career in International Relations. We are confident that Brenda’s motivation, dedication to academics, and love for God will make her a positive force of change in El Salvador. We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring!

Jefferson

We first met Jefferson as a two-year-old boy. For as long as we can remember, he has been one of our most imaginative kids. He takes wonderful care of his toys and loves sitting by himself, creating sprawling displays with his toy animals, soldiers, and superheroes. Now 11, Jefferson has become a leader of sorts for the little boys. Herberth and Jeremiah, in particular, follow Jefferson around, imitating his moves and asking his opinion on things before making decisions. His respect is well earned. He always finds one of his own toys to give as a gift when one of the younger kids has a birthday. You can always could on Jefferson for a hug, or a laugh. He’s a bright young boy with an equally bright future.

When we remember the kids first arriving at Love & Hope, when we sort through old pictures, or share stories about when they were little, we are reminded of God’s perfect plan to bring them to Love & Hope Children’s Home and His amazing providence in looking after every single one of His children and helping them grow. The children that Love & Hope Children’s Home serves come from difficult pasts, but with holistic care we have seen how lives can be changed. Love & Hope is fully committed to helping these children know their value to Jesus, to support them through adulthood (however long it takes), and encourage them to create and lead a better El Salvador.

Help us continue the work we’ve started by joining our 10 Years, 10 Friends, 10 Dollars campaign. We’re asking you to share the story of Love & Hope with 10 friends, and ask them to give just $10 to support kids like Brenda and Jefferson.