​In Asociación Sueños, I work with a specific sector in Guatemala, which I would like to call the "deep" Guatemala. It does not appear in the advertisements, and its crude reality is often hidden. There are so many elements framing this Guatemala, like toxic masculinity (machismo), poverty, migration, violence, and lack of opportunities. 

Many of these elements were my reality, a part of my childhood, which is why I identify strongly with the children and adolescents of our organization. I lived through many of these realities: a very macho father, family disintegration, poverty, violence, and of course migration to improve opportunities.

At the beginning of 2019, Sueños moved into our new home - The Sueños Educational Center! The center is located just one block from the central park (where our students and families work) and is on the second floor of a lovely cafe. We have two small classrooms and a small outdoor patio to use for all of our classes.

Amy Cohen taught Sueños' director, Katie Korsyn, 7th and 9th-grade geography and African American history at Masterman, in Philadelphia, PA. The Cohen family has been supporting Sueños for the past year and has had a huge role in establishing Sueños as a nonprofit in both the U.S. and in Guatemala, and in harboring a community of Sueños supporters. Amy Cohen, her husband Michael, her daughter Chloe, and her niece Dylan, visited Sueños in Guatemala this summer for the first time. They attended Spanish classes in the mornings and spent their afternoons with our students and facilitators. Below Amy and Michael discuss some of their experiences with Sueños. 

Amy Cohen enseñó a la directora de Sueños, Katie Korsyn, en séptimo y noveno grado, geografia e historia afroamericana en Masterman, en Filadelfia, Pensilvania. La familia Cohen ha apoyado a Sueños durante el último año y tuvo un papel muy importante en el establecimiento de Sueños como una organización sin fines de lucro tanto en los EE. UU. como en Guatemala, y en fomentar una comunidad de apoyo para Sueños. Amy Cohen, su esposo Michael, su hija Chloe y su sobrina Dylan, visitaron Sueños en Guatemala este agosto por primera vez. Asistían a clases de español por las mañanas y pasaban las tardes con nuestros estudiantes y facilitadores. Abajo, Amy y Michael cuentan algunas de sus experiencias con Sueños.

​This year we were happy to celebrate children's day with our Second Annual Children's Cultural Festival. Every year, at the end of September, we celebrate both Children's Day and Guatemala's month of independence with this special event. We combine the fun games that characterize Children's Day with the cultural celebrations of September in Guatemala for a day of meaningful fun. 

Este año nos alegró celebrar el Día del Niño con nuestro Segundo Anual Festival Cultural para los Niños. Cada año, a fines de septiembre, celebramos el Día del Niño y el mes de Independencia en Guatemala con este evento especial. Combinamos los juegos divertidos que caracterizan el Día del Niño con las celebraciones culturales de septiembre en Guatemala para un día de diversión significativa.

This month, due to a donation of medical supplies from The Great Commission, Sueños was able to provide medical consultations, medicine, vitamins, and glasses to 55 members of our community. 

The Great Commission brings American doctors to Guatemala each year with thousands of dollars worth of medicines and treatments. Over the course of a week they distribute medical services and medications free of charge to thousands of patients. This year they decided to donate their remaining medications to Sueños so we could treat the members of our community. 

Sunny Reardon is a volunteer from the University of Pennsylvania / Sunny Reardon es una voluntaria de la Universidad de Pensilvania 

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Last summer I spent six weeks as a volunteer with Sueños, and I don't think I could have possibly had a better experience. My friend Hannah and I had just finished our freshman year of college at the University of Pennsylvania, and we were looking to do something meaningful while still getting the opportunity to travel. When I discovered the organization, I was so excited to be a part of it because I really believed (and still believe!) in what it stands for.​

​On a daily basis, Hannah and I took one-to-one Spanish classes 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, and twice a week we would meet Katie in the Central Park to gather the children for the class. The most powerful part of this experience was seeing how much the children really benefitted from a structured learning environment. Although the project was still in an unofficial format, with all ages in one class and lessons conducted on a small white board, it was clear how much potential this kind of initiative has.

Since we left, Katie has been able to grow the program immensely, and I know that as Sueños continues to grow, the greater the impact will be on the education and lives of the children Katie works with. I am so proud of this organization which is now officially a non-profit (!) and I cannot wait to see in which direction it goes.

El verano pasado pasé seis semanas como voluntaria con Sueños, y no creo que podría haber tenido una mejor experiencia. Mi amiga Hannah y yo acabábamos de terminar el primer año de la universidad en la Universidad de Pensilvania, y estábamos buscando hacer algo significativo sin dejar de tener la oportunidad de viajar. Cuando descubrí la organización, estaba tan emocionado de ser parte de ella porque realmente creía (¡y sigo creyendo!) en lo que representa.

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Alex es un chico de 18 años, lustra zapatos, no sabe leer ni escribir, pero eso no le impide que pueda imaginar un mejor futuro. Asiste a nuestra clase todas las semanas, acompañado de su hija pequeña, de 3 años. / Alex is an 18-year-old boy, he shines shoes for a living, and can not read or write, but that does not stop him from imagining a better future. He attends our class every week, accompanied by his 3-year-old daughter.

Byron is the educational facilitator for "Sueños en Acción" and "Mujeres en Acción". / Byron es el facilitador educativo para "Sueños en Acción" and "Mujeres en Acción".

The project Sueños was built from the bottom up, and I like to think that I grew up with it, both professionally and personally. It was chance: I came, I grew and I stayed.

I studied to be a high school teacher and I always liked education, however, I knew little about the development of the national education system and did not want to practice. I'm now a psychologist, and I've always liked working in the area of ​​social projects, more on the street and less in the office.
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Here I found both; the opportunity to teach, with a humanitarian model, personalized and comprehensive. And also to be able to create new ways of thinking to break with the circles that have tied us to an inefficient system. ​