What the black dog means to me

Imagine a trip so impactful that almost everyone on the trip has committed to going back in 2025. From July 13-18, the team was on the ground in Montería, Colombia where Make a Miracle expanded last year. The hard work of Lady Caceres, our Director of Education and Global Expansion who has been living in Colombia, was on full display. Getting to participate in our Star Kids and Teens Programs with the 60+ local students was a blast for the team, but it was the heartfelt testimonies from the children’s mothers about the profound impact MAM’s youth programs have had on their kids that brought tears to our eyes. In addition, we visited a girls home and were able to help them with some of their needs, host a pool party for our Star Teens all over Colombia, and interview students for scholarships. It was the perfect inaugural team trip, and we are excited to bring more teams there in the future.

We said goodbye to a couple of team members and picked up a few when we flew to Peru. From the 19th to the 24th we served in San Juan de Lurigancho. In the first three days alone, we built two homes, helped with Star Kids and Teens, held a career workshop, offered a free vet clinic, danced with children at Los Pinos, a school for children with disabilities, interviewed students for our scholarship program, and so much more. It was the best kind of exhausting. The best part of the trips is always the awarding of scholarships. One of the highlights was certainly approving 5 moms who will be getting scholarships for 6 month to 1 year trade degrees, a new initiative aimed at enhancing their skills and increasing their earning potential. We are eagerly looking forward to going back to Peru in March.