I am participating in the Annual Safe Passage Virtual 5k because I believe everyone deserves access to a quality education, including the students served by Safe Passage/Camino Seguro who live in the dump community of Guatemala City. Today, at nearly 600 enrolled students ages 3+, Safe Passage students are able to complete a pre-k through 9th grade education that includes daily nutritious meals and snacks, healthcare, and psychosocial services, family supports, with the added benefit of educational, job training, and career planning support as they complete their high school diploma, and solidify their pathway toward a career with dignity. Safe Passage students advance thanks largely to the wrap around services that mitigate poor educational outcomes, resulting in 90%+ graduation rates. When I visit Safe Passage, I have the opportunity to talk to students of all ages, including our graduates who are pursuing their dreams and fulfilling aspirations. Gabi, for example, who is a now a medical student, whose mother - due to poverty - used to tell her how sad she was that she couldn't afford to send Gabi or her sisters to school, until they found Safe Passage in 2014. It is a privilege to know these remarkable individuals and I invite you to join me in contributing to the solution - breaking the cycle of poverty through education - by helping Safe Passage provide the holistic education every child deserves. Thank you!!!
