BACKPACKS OF DREAMS - Help children & youths!

Unlike her daughters, Marita grew up in El Carmen, a small rural town near Chillán, in southern Chile. She was the youngest of seven siblings, and her family's economic difficulties kept her out of school when she had barely learned to divide. "I had to walk a long way to go to school, leave early, walk alone in the countryside," she remembers. She dropped out of school in sixth grade and, according to her, no one cared.

Marita (51) is the mother of Sarely, 28, and Jackie, 17. Her life has not been easy. After pairing up with Sarely's father, they lived together for eight years in a relationship marked by poverty, violence and constant disqualification. "He took what I earned when I started working. He was an alcoholic and violent man," she remembers. This situation led her to make a drastic decision: leave that relationship and move to Santiago, bringing her two daughters with her.

-How did you raise your daughters?

"Working and looking for help, without excuses. My youngest daughter, Jackie, faced bullying at school for her shyness and suffered panic attacks, so I sought support at the Betania School of the Súmate Foundation, where they took her in. Before, we lived in Macul, which was a quieter place. But a housing opportunity took us to La Pintana, where violence is more palpable and gunshots are often heard. That affected my daughter, but thanks to the support of Súmate, she now speaks more, is happier, and dreams of being a veterinarian. Who would have thought?"

Thank you for allowing more children and teenagers to carry their dream backpacks!

• This Christmas, you can continue to help people in extreme poverty. We invite you to give a Christmas dinner to an elderly person in poverty, here!

Links:

• Learn Marita's story.

Multiple factors trigger education exclusion, all linked to extreme poverty and long stories of deprivation. Over 227,000 children are out of school in Chile; many were enrolled but never showed up. These Kids need our help not just to regain their spot in the classroom but also to help fill out their Backpacks of Dreams. As a starting point with basic school supplies, KITs to start over (wood pencils, colored pencils, sharpener, eraser, notebooks, ruler, etc.).

For over 30 years, SUMATE network programs from Hogar de Cristo have provided quality education to children and youths, focusing on the most vulnerable outside school. We have 4 reentry schools, 6 socio-educational programs, and reentry classrooms throughout Chile. This year, we serve over 3,000 children. The school supplies provided to our students are a symbolic seal of compromise to encourage their regular class attendance, start over, and take these small challenges to improve and achieve their goals.

Your help allows the boys and girls of the SÚMATE schools of Hogar de Cristo, thank you very much!

Links:

• EMOL - Paula Montes, Director SUMATE, Hogar de Cristo.
• NOSTALGICA - (Opinion) Sweden is also in Chile
• G5NOTICIAS - Director SUMATE, about second chance schools.