“When I was seven, I was shining shoes in the streets. When I was 14, I was fixing and assembling computers. And when I was 23, I was already an IT Manager for a group of companies in the east of Dominican Republic. Because someone decided to invest in my life. Because someone decided to sacrifice so I could have opportunities.”

Tony Beltran, National Director of Compassion Dominican Republic

“One day I shared my dream with my sponsor in a letter. I told her I wanted to become a doctor when I grew up. Her reply was simple: ‘Yanelly, I love you and I believe in you.’ Sometimes you can’t believe in a dream until someone else believes it with you. Today, I’m a doctor, a wife, and a mother to a precious daughter of God. My dreams came true.”

Yanelly Suero, Doctor from Dominican Republic

“Before sponsorship, I experienced hunger, as my family’s small piece of land was our only source for food. But sponsorship changed my life. I received a scholarship to go to university and finished my MA in Plant Science. Now, I’m studying for my PhD in the United States so I can focus on food security and how we can create policies to help more farmers like my mum have enough to eat.”

Collins Bugingo, PhD student from Uganda