HOW IT STARTED

In 2016 I formed a Mexican non-profit and we began supporting 72 local young people whose families lacked the resources to send them to school. Over the next five years, thanks to the generosity of so many of you, the Educarte program grew to providing more than 800 young people with a path out of poverty through education. During this time dozens of these young people graduated from high school, many went on to college and several have now graduated from college.

Along the way, we began receiving requests for support from an increasing number of parents of children with disabilities. We were heartbroken to learn of the incredible hardships these parents faced trying to access the support their children desperately needed. Because there are very few professional resources available for children with disabilities in the community, families were having to travel 7-8 hours by bus each month to the Children’s Hospital in Hermosillo for their children to receive therapies and other services they need to reach their potential. While this support was better than nothing, as someone with a background working with children with disabilities, I knew that therapy once a month was not enough to impact the futures of these kids in a significant way.

MAKING A TOUGH DECISION

Although each year we were financially supporting more kids with disabilities, it was becoming clear that helping a small group of families travel monthly to Hermosillo was not coming close to meeting their needs. It was also clear that many more disabled young people in the community were getting no support and, therefore, stood little to no chance of reaching their potential. Unfortunately, without unlimited resources, we knew we could not continue to grow our programs serving both children with and without disabilities. So, last January we made the difficult decision to focus our efforts on serving the young people who are the most vulnerable and who need us most — those with disabilities.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

In January of 2022 we opened a multidisciplinary clinic to provide physical, occupational and speech therapy for kids with disabilities. As this clinic began to grow and thrive, we saw the need for a school to serve kids who were not accepted at their local public schools. So, in March of 2023 we started a small private special education program.

WHERE WE ARE GOING

Although our special education program is still in its first year and is only one classroom, we are determined to expand this program significantly over the next several years. Our dream is to be able to offer a private special education school providing multiple classrooms serving kids with various disabilities. We also hope to add a vocational program to teach older students’ important life and work skills so that they can thrive and participate fully in life.

As we begin a new year, I find myself feeling incredibly grateful for the generous support we have received from so many of you that has made all of this possible. Educarte has grown and thrived in ways I never imagined, and I am so proud of the work my local team is doing to improve the lives of young people with disabilities in the community.

To learn more or make a tax deductible gift to support our efforts to give kids with disabilities hope for a better future go to www.AmigosEducarte.org.

Muchas Gracias and Happy New Year!