Little Ones Dream Big

Ecuador Street Children

It was the big question that Andrea Montenegro recently asked the children in our Drug and Crime Prevention Project in Guayaquil, Ecuador: What is your dream - what do you want to become in life? In this part of the city, most children are never asked this sort of thing. But still, they have a very clear idea of what they want to become. During a fun afternoon with Andrea, the children had the opportunity to dream big while playing and dancing all the while.

Andrea Montenegro, a young lady from Israel with Argentinian roots, visited our project in Guayaquil with two of her friends this month. She is currently touring South America to promote a Youth Congress taking place in her home country. During a stop at our project, she spontaneously suggested inviting the children from the area for an afternoon of fun. So Andrea and our staff dressed up in costumes, painted their faces and welcomed roughly 30 children. It was quite a party with balloons, candy, dance, and games. The children had their faces painted, too. 

Andrea told them the story of her life and how she reached her dreams with God. Then it was the children’s turn to envision their future. They drew pictures of their dream jobs and presented their ideas to the other kids. Among them, you could make out future pastors and veterinarians. Giving the children space to dream can give them direction for their own lives, one that leads them out of poverty and neglect. 

Although Andrea had to leave the following day, our team is there to stay to continue listening to the children’s needs and to offer them an array of workshops so they can develop their skills, find orientation in life, and eventually make their dreams come true.