BACKPACKS OF DREAMS - Help children & youths!

Hi there,

I wanted to personally share a meaningful update on a promising initiative you helped bring to life through our Backpacks of Dreams project.

In June 2025, Hogar de Cristo formalized a partnership between Fundación Súmate and Fundación Presente to strengthen school attendance and prevent dropout among young people who have left or are at risk of leaving the education system.

This alliance brings together Fundación Presente’s proven expertise in boosting attendance with Súmate’s educational re-entry programs. Their tools and methodologies are now helping us build stronger support systems and strategies to keep students engaged and learning.

Rebeca Molina, Executive Director of Fundación Presente, shared:

“Working with Fundación Súmate is a natural step after our previous collaborations. We’re confident this agreement will deepen learning and benefit many young people across Chile.”

Paula Montes, Executive Director of Fundación Súmate, added:

“This alliance gives us concrete tools to encourage attendance and continuity. It’s an urgent need—to build conditions that support real learning and inclusion for young people.”

Thanks to your support, we’re helping young people return to school and stay there—restoring their right to learn, dream, and build a better future.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Hogar de Cristo

The year 2024 saw tragic events in Chile that pain and challenge those of us who work in education: the deaths of young people in the context of school violence, aggression, and neglect.

At the same time, the Súmate Foundation of Hogar de Cristo is desperately reaching out to children and young people who are outside the education system, to show them that there is hope. That they can get back on track, especially for those immersed in a world without opportunities. The reentry program remains insufficient for the more than 200,000 children and young people who are not currently studying. Furthermore, the existing program faces serious funding challenges.

That is why, despite the adversity, one of the best moments—if not the best—for those of us who work in education is participating in the graduation ceremonies of high school graduates. Seeing their smiles, hearing their expectations, feeling the emotion of those close to them when they see their daughter or daughter achieve what was unthinkable just a few months or years ago, brings peace with any frustration or hardship. These moments give us the energy to continue fighting against injustice, inequality, and exclusion, aspects that keep so many young people from their rights and bring them closer to the emptiness of fleeting, often suicidal or toxic success.

Thank you for being part of this dream and enabling more children to complete their secondary education and graduate from school.